One of the weirdest things for me to get adjusted to is that I'm not in school anymore. I like working, but it is weird to not have any homework or anything to worry about at night or on the weekends. That being said, I am getting quite used to it. I go into school Tuesday through Friday and teach for about 4 hours a day. Though it seems really quick, there are multiple breaks so I end up being there for around 7 hours a day. The hardest thing to get used to is the school schedule- it starts at 9:00, breaks for recess from 11:15-11:45, and then again from 12:30-2:30. School runs again until 4:00. The two hour break is definitely something to get used to. I actually think it is pretty counterproductive, because the students are impossible to teach and control afterwards- not that they are easy to teach in the first place. Some of the staff at my school are trying to change it, but that schedule is really common in primary schools here.
This past week was Halloween! Halloween is not a traditional Spanish holiday (the day after- All Saints Day- is celebrated here), but because of all the influence of foreigners, many Spanish people have adopted the celebration. We had been decorating for Halloween for the past couple weeks, and this entire past week was focused on the holiday. Early in the week, we read Halloween stories to the students from the preschool. On Thursday, the entire day was dedicated to Halloween. Nearly every student (and teacher) were dressed up, and we did Halloween activities ranging from reading stories to singing songs to coloring. There was also a haunted house put on by the parents in the auditorium, which most of my second graders were terrified of (me da miedo!). I did manage to go myself, with one of my students clinging to my arm the entire time. Then the kids went Trick-or-Treating (Truco o Trato) for two pieces of candy.
One huge difference here is that it is considered weird if you are not in a scary costume! I have never been anything scary, I'm pretty sure, and this year I just ended up buying a witch hat for a euro to wear with my black dress. But the kids went all out with their makeup- fake blood, scars, fake bullet holes glued onto their heads, zipper faces, etc. I do not remember getting nearly as dressed up for Halloween as they did!
Another important thing is that I am in full swing with the private tutoring jobs! Depending on the week, I tutor 7 or 8 hours. This ends up being pretty good money! Most of my classes are focused on conversation. I teach one girl that is in my class at school, which is relatively easy since I know exactly what they are doing and what they need to work on. The most fun one is on Thursdays with two boys- 4 and 6 years old. We end up just playing the entire time- speaking in English. I bought a Bingo game with both English and Spanish from the dollar section at Target before I left- best purchase ever. It distracts them for the entire hour and a half!
Up to this weekend, I had stayed in the city for the past month and a half. But yesterday I went with three of my friends to Salamanca, which is about 2.5 hours northwest of Madrid. I had actually been there before, but it is nice and I wanted to get out of Madrid! We just went for the day. One of my friends brought her Spain travel guide, so we did a self-guided walking tour and went inside some of the buildings. It is pretty easy to see in a few hours, and then we ate lunch and walked around for the rest of the day.
One of the cool things that we did was go up into the top of one of the cathedrals, where we got to look out over the city!
Salamanca is very famous for its university as well as Plaza Mayor. The plaza is said to be one of the most beautiful in Spain!
So that is pretty much it! Hopefully I will have more stuff to update with soon!
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