Alhambra visit, Flamenco Day, and Friendsgiving...what a combo
In the aftermath of the Morocco trip, I took this week at a slower pace and caught up on some much needed rest. I think the lack of sleep and jam-packed weekend took a toll on my immune system, because I have been battling a sinus infection. However, at school we had a lot of variety thrown into our normal routine which made for an exciting, fun-filled week!
This Wednesday the entirety of 6th grade (about 75 students) took a field trip to the Alhambra. I was invited to accompany them and I jumped at the opportunity to get paid to visit Spain's second most famous monument. I had been to the Alhambra two times previously, but it never loses its magic.
I was placed with 6C, the group of students whose main teacher is also my coordinator Ana, and we started the tour. Our guide, Inma, was absolutely wonderful and really got the students engaged in the history of the Alhambra by telling them ~legends~. Even the quietest kids were participating and asking questions!
Since this group is still unaware I speak Spanish, two of the higher level English speakers took it upon themselves to translate everything Inma was saying for me. I was touched by their dedication and determination to ensure I was having a good time too. They also did an impressive job using a lot of new vocabulary, and I was very proud of their effort.
My pictures from this visit are subpar at best (I was trying to not let the kids see I was using my phone), but I will still include some of them for context. We learned that there are 12 lions in the famous Patio de los Leones and there are several possible explanations as to why they chose that number when designing the patil: possibly to represent the months of the year, or number of hours in the day/night, or the number of zodiac signs.
The intricate walls of the Alhambra are covered in geometric shapes, writing, and other desgins. However, you will not find a single human or animal form since that is prohibited in the Muslim religion. The attention to detail on all the walls in this entire palace is stunning and something you never quite get over, no matter how many times you visit.
The students were so focused and well behaved until...snack time. Once they were loaded up on sugar and potato chips, their attention spans were cut nearly in half and their energy levels doubled. Ana and I struggled to rein them in for the rest of the tour, but it certainly was entertaining to watch them.
Once we returned to Motril, I was introduced to the mother of one of my little translators, and I told her how accomodating Martín had been on the tour. We had a lovely conversation, via a very flustered Martín, before I headed home for some siesta time.
Thursday was El Diá Internacional del Flamenco which meant the entire morning was full of performances in the school courtyard. There were four separate shows at my school: a dance from the 1st and 2nd graders, a song from the 3rd and 4th graders, a tango dance from mixed grade participants, and a typical Flamenco dance from the 5th and 6th graders. I got to school just in time for the festivities to begin and equipped with my borrowed manton (a decorative shawl) and fake flower, I was ready to celebrate.
After the regularly scheduled performances, the students dragged us teachers onto the court and we all "danced" along to some live music including a rendition of the Sponge Bob Square Pants theme song. My 6th graders were begging me to come dance in front of everyone and I kept hiding behind Ana to avoid their request. However, once one of them gets an idea and it spreads, it is really hard to say no to 30 plus pleading children.
We had an uneventful afternoon with the students besides two girls sharing a 6th grade secret with me. Apparently, one of their classmates, Sergio, has been telling everyone that he wants to be my boyfriend...middle school scandal! I hate to break it to you Sergio, but I am simply double your age sir.
Victoria and I decided to try a new class at the gym, Espalada Sana (Healthy Back), on Thursday night. It was so relaxing and theraputic to do stretching and breathwork exercises for an hour. I realized during this reflective time that a lot of the jobs/tasks I've had that have been teaching adjacent (ex: training coworkers, tutoring, being a peer mentor, etc), are some of my fondest "professional" memories. I really find this type of work rewarding and I think pursing a career in this relam would be very fullfilling for me.
This was the second revelation of the day for me...the first being that "adios" translates directly to "to God". Now I cannot stop thinking about this whenever I say "goodbye" to someone. How did I not realize this earlier in my Spanish speaking career!
Before settling in to watch El Internado with Sophie and Lauren, we tag teamed the making and baking of two pumpkin pies for our Friendsgiving celebration. Lauren made the dough, I rolled out the crust, and Sophie created the filling. The pies came out fantastic and the whole apartment smelled like autumn spices!
Friday was a full day of Friendsgiving prep inclduing lots of cooking, cleaning, and rearranging furniture to find the perfect set-up. We divided and conquered the tasks and finished just before our first guests started arriving. In total, there were eight of us at Friendsgiving dinner, and Liz, Lauren, and Victoria were all first-timers to this American tradition.
For hosting "Thanksgiving" in Spain in a tiny apartment, I have to say we did insanely well. My roommates and I contributed mulled wine, cheddar chive biscuits, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. Skye and Renne brought stuffing, vegetarian gravy, green bean casserole, and fried chicken (a turkey would have been far too difficult). And finally, Victoria and Maria brought mac n' cheese and a salad.
Everything was delicious and brought back memories of many a Thanksgiving from back home. My favorites have to be the stuffing and the pumpkin pie which comes as no surprise since they are always the best parts of the meal to me.
After we cleaned our plates, we all said what we were thankful for and played homemade Telestrations which provided us with lots of laughs. We were able to send everyone home with a variety of leftovers to keep them happy and full for the next couple days. This will definitely go down in my book as one of the most successful Friendsgivings I have ever hosted. I am really sad to be missing my favorite holiday with my family this year, but this tribute to Thanksgiving definitely helped :)
On Saturday, Skye and I tried to take the bus (we missed it...) to Salobreña to meet three other auxes for a hike. Thankfully, the town is so close to Motril we just hopped in a taxi, but now we know we cannot be so lax in the bus station.
The weather was perfect and we took an easy 8.5 mile loop north of Salobreña. It was nice to meet some new people, but my social battery ran right out about halfway in...I think I also could have used a snack pick-me-up. Anyways, we made it back safely to the bus station and were back to Motril just in time for some leftover mashed potatoes and a siesta.
On my walk to my apartment I spotted a plant discarded by the dumpsters and decided to take it home with me. I am not 100% sure it will be able to be revived, but I am going to try my best. Any name suggestions for said plant would be greatly appreciated.
So far Sunday has been extremely relaxing for me and I was treated to a personal violin concert from Sophie. I told her she should learn how to play "Bella Ciao" (the signature song from the TV show Money Heist) for her students and that kicked off the show!
This upcoming week I am very excited to share my Thanksgiving presentation with my classes and lead them through the accompanying activity. I am going to have them make and decorate gratitude hand turkeys in their notebooks. I think it will be interesting to hear what they are thankful for and to see their thoughts on this very American holiday!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone <3
Thanx Jessica for all the pics and commentary. Got last weeks but computer was on the fritz so i couldn't respond. Hugs, GR
Cuando ponen la canción de Bob Esponja en el patio de la escuela