Monday Blues

Yesterday I got a tad lazy and didn't write. It was a good day though. Got to meet another classmate and go to the Rastro market. I'd read in multiple different places that it was a must-do thing as long as one is wary of possible pick pockets. Amazingly even with making a couple wrong turns my post it notes directions and slightly improving directional skill got us to the market. Most of it is like a huge flea market with clothes and souvenir stuff. I personally really want a pair of these pants that so many people are wearing that are kind of baggy and remind me of Jasmine's from Aladdin. It's a need that must be fulfilled in the upcoming weeks. The other two found things that they liked or wanted pretty early on but it wasn't until we came to a side street where it started looking more like yard sale that I found something for myself. In a box of books I found a few children's books from a series called "Las tres mellizas" (the three triplets). They are slightly juvenile but what makes them great is that each book covers a different historical legend or book like Don Quixote or the knights of the round table. The first half of the book is an adventure with the triplets and those literary characters while the second half has all kinds of facts and research about he authors and the history surrounding each work. Really neat and I figured great for my future students. So I bought the 4 that they had for 2 euros a piece which was not bad considering I can't find them on ebay - only dvd's for like $10 or so. Maybe I will get lucky and find more from the series at a good deal.

We had lunch at this place that looked promising but the service was horrible. I'm not sure whether service in a country that doesn't do tips is just naturally bad or if being American pin points me for extra awful service. It took ages to get the food and it wasn't even that fantastic. The best part of it was not only the leaving but that they had a bathroom (albeit nasty) that I was able to use. Sheesh! What's the point of eating out if the overall experience is going to be so bad? I'll stick to my Jif peanut butter. By 3pm we were back near my street and we decided to call it a day. I was ready for a splendid nap. It was a true long siesta for me. Then I filled the rest of my day between skyping and watching some "Hot in Cleveland." Yes, I am getting a splendid cultural experience here.

Class today almost made me want to be back with angry waitress from yesterday. They switched our teacher and put us with another one and three new students. Ugh I was miserable for the entire time. The woman is smart and nice but just paled in comparison to Paco our beloved profesor. Ok. So I didn't actually think she was that nice and I left class with questions that I now must rely on google to answer. Not amused. Grammar worksheets? Really? Add to that not having enough copies for everyone and you have a recipe for boredom. I don't like to write on my handouts in general because i always look at it as materials for my own classroom but on top of that when I do not even have my own copy of course I'm not writing on it. Teacher was not amused. Kept telling me and my classmate from last week that we needed to write it down so she could see we were getting it. Please. Imperfect subjunctive in condicional phrases? Boring. Not exactly something that's hard to grasp. Especially after drilling it. I require more real world context and conversation practice at this point in my Spanish career. Another fun fact about class? She wrote down everything we said and then had the class correct every single one of our errors. Tell me how this is conducive to getting students motivated to talk? I didn't feel comfortable asking questions. She loved the three Italian students even though she continually had to chide them to speak in Spanish and not Italian. She actually told me and my classmate that those three should catch on to the new form easily because of their linguistic background but that she would have to see me and Katrina write it down so she could make sure we could produce the form. Katrina did the exact same worksheet two weeks ago with Paco.

Oy! Needless to say we were less than impressed and want Paco back. We relayed this to the director of educational blah blah at the school. Paco saw us and smiled. I think he loves the idea of our devotion to him and his teaching style. But honestly we are paying good money to take these classes we ought to be with someone who we get a lot out of. I learned one thing today. 1! Not even something that helps me all that much either. Katrina, Tomo and I did our best to plead our case. For some reason they elected me the spokesperson for our cause. Still don't know why. The director listened to us and seemed quite displeased with our dissatisfaction because this woman is such a great teacher. Sure. She's smart but we don't click. She tried to tell us that we couldn't possibly know after one day. Yeah right. I knew after 30 minutes with Paco that I was going to be happy. I said it too. Then she tried to turn it into a life lesson about how you go out into the streets and there are the different people and blah blah blah. That's all fine and good and it is important to know that in life you must learn to deal with different people. At this point I might have gotten tastefully sassy and stated that yes that is so but that I am not paying anyone in the streets for an education. That woman probably doesn't think too highly of me at this point though my classmates seem to adore me more for it. So more blah blah blah she will see what can be done but no promises. This probably means we are stuck with Monica and not only this but that Monica is going to find out about our mini mutiny and class could be worse tomorrow. I think if it is I might just ask for a refund of my money for the rest of my unused classes. I'll use the money to buy a grammar book and study it in Parque del Retiro because grammar lessons are all I'll get with the new teacher anyways. Rawr it just upsets me. I now feel even more convicted about how I need to be for my future Spanish students.

Ok. That felt good to rant and get it all out. I'm just stressed and wanting to learn as much as possible before my grad classes start. On the bright side I will be hanging out with the new female classmate here in Madrid tomorrow. Today got a little out of whack so it didn't happen but I look forward to going out and about some tomorrow. And you know what I just need to pray and trust God that He will take care of this school situation. It's all a learning experience. So as I continue to adjust I will keep writing and keeping loved ones and readers alike informed of my triumphs and misadventures while here in the toasty city of Madrid.