Hypothermosis

The fear of sweat.



Or at least, according to Answers.com. Sounds like... Harry Potter? -ish?

Hypothermosis. I think many people I have met have this. Remembering back to orientation many people mentioned how the Spanish culture is very laid-back.

Laid-back as in, no one ever arrives on time.

But I have found much more than just that. The atmosphere of getting things done is...non-existant.

So how do things get done?


I took notes on everything that happened in one day. And I came up with a list, surprising myself on how much I have already gotten used to.

Quite interesting, life.


"A Typical Day"

Tuesday Morning- First Hour
I get my English test back. Or was that the day before? I don't remember.

8.75

Please tell me what is wrong with:

I owned a dog when I was younger.

But don't worry- my entire test was correct. She marked things that weren't wrong.




Tuesday Night

Someone told me during school there was a science test (in CMC, one of the like bazillion science classes I have) the next day. Awesome, right? Another test I won't understand. Cool. So I go home and decide to open my book and read what I could. (which is next to nothing...)

And? There is no book. I looked everywhere. (a plus to having a small apartment- not many places to look)


I NEVER bought my CMC book?!

Nope. Must have forgotten to buy it when I got all of my other ones. But I only noticed November 23rd?? Yep...

Likewise, I signed into Tuenti and asked a classmate what our book looks like. He didn't remember- as we haven't actually used it yet. And he also told me our test wasn't until the 25th. AND- It wasn't about things in the book.

WHAT?!

Welcome!... to Spain. The land where I haven't seem to understand...life. Yet.

5:00PM- I went to the bookstore to get my long-forgotten book. Let me add, stores here are closed in the middle of they day from about 2:30-5:00PM for siesta. Where people actually sleep is up to them- but everyone takes the time off to go home and eat lunch.

The catch to 'school book' shopping is you don't get your books the same day. You have to come back the next day to pick them up and pay for them.

Walking out of the store I realized that they have the books there... somewhere... sitting on a shelf- as it is impossible to get just one book shipped in one day. The reason why people have to wait a day is for them to find the book.

The store isn't that big- trust me.

So that was a piece to my puzzle. An explanation. Of something.

Next I went to the 'Tobacco' store to change the type of my monthly Metro pass. Something I have to wait 20 days for...


Oh yeah- I took the Metro home. It's a day I'll officially mark down in my history book. I thought for sure I knew how the doors worked- but I guess if you push the button it's possible that they will only halfway open.

And then close. Smacking you square in the face.

And it's not like I walked into the doors. But it was still embarrassing. Thankfully if you shove the door back hard enough they re-open...



The Next Day

Another English test.

People don't usually tell me about these tests- but I guess it's all the same. Even if it is in English. It doesn't...make...much...difference.

Question mark?

When I handed in my English test, and in a really loud voice my English teacher asked,

"DID YOU UNDERSTAND THIS TIME?!"

I had no... words.



Then, she proceeded to tell me that I did the whole second page wrong.

She never looked at my test. Never. Not Once.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she yelled at me once again.

"Even SPANISH students understand how the exam!"


Right.......hmmmm.


After recreo, 9 or 10 students just left. Because there wasn't any tests in the afternoon.

I wonder what my American high school would do, if 9 or 10 students just left when there wasn't an exam.


The 7th Hour-

So the 7th hour that (everyone dreads) extends our Wednesdays and Thursdays. After 6th hour kids just got up and started leaving.

Because our 7th hour teacher didn't come to class- we didn't have class. And since it was the end of the day- we got to go home. Cool, eh? Yes, awesome. I asked the kid next to me how he everyone knew the teacher wasn't at school, because...no one told us?

His response?

"We just...know."


Thursday- Thanksgiving

My chemistry teacher hands out the tests from the day before. Mine's last.

Another announcement:

"BETH!...Nada ayer, no?"

(You didn't understand anything on the test, huh?)


Thank-Youuuu for announcing that to the class. As if that's really how I wanted to start my day. But whatever...

And yeah, she didn't give me my test back.



Math Class- My teacher was making fun of a student, and the class kind of laughed. Including myself. (This does NOT happen often...jokes in class.)

Realizing that I laughed with the class made me realize how far my Spanish has come in just under three months. But I wasn't the only one who noticed. The kid next to me stopped laughing, turned towards me, then away, and laughed at the fact that I was laughing. I, of course, couldn't help at laughing at how ridiculous the whole situation was...but quickly had to stop in order to not get into trouble...

Recreo- (if you don't understand please read previous posts :)

There was a "meeting" with all of my teachers about my grades and such. About the general idea that I can't complete normal schoolwork.
So- it was supposed to start at 11:25AM. But only then did the "head" teacher start to gather up all of the teachers. Don't worry- this wasn't posted or anything. It's like a... "see-if-you-can-find-everyone-quickly-inorder-to-look-organized" type of thing. But don't worry- I know better than that now.

So the meeting with "everyone" (which was minus a few teachers) lasted less than 5 minutes. One by one a teacher would just get up and leave and said they had to go somewhere. I think the meeting was successful-ish.. but I'll guess I'll find out more later.

The Spanish like the idea of just leaving. Strange.


GYM- Let me start to say that gym class is nearly a joke here as we don't do hardly anything. I have another post coming with more details about all of my individual classes to explain further.

In a nutshell, we didn't work hard. We never...work..hard. And something that bothered me when we were running is....kids don't do all the way to the line. Five to ten feet out they would cut it short and turn to go the other way.

Just another sign of laziness in our class. I find this in the states too, but it made me realize the discipline in our (school) sports- and how no one would ever stop before the line.

Or complain about such an easy gym class.


Teacher-Changing-Classroom..Time?- The second the teacher walks out the door the kids go wild. I mentioned before how everything just goes out the window. This time it was a backpack. Someone hid it behind a window on the ledge. Quite an interesting spot to find your backpack...

Another kid was using a book as a baseball bat to hit a paper ball. I guess Spaniards don't play enough baseball because the book went flying out of the kid's hands and went halfway across the room.

Another kid stole the chalk from the chalkboard, and within twenty seconds that too was flying across the room, breaking into pieces.

Other kids sometimes like to draw cartoon characters of the teachers. THIS- is worth watching. :)

Most of the other kids are quite well behaved- creating paper airplanes and hats, or just throwing paper around the room in general is considered to be less exciting.

Oh, and our Philosophy teacher (who happens to be our study hall supervisor as well) didn't come to school either, so 5th and 7th hour we didn't have class- therefore it was another normal going home day at 2:30PM :)


Thanksgiving afternoon-



I met up with Caroline and Jake to run by "The American Store" in order to look for things for Thanksgiving. We are having a feast at Caroline's house Sunday so it was necessary to buy the pumpkin pie and stuffing :D



It's really amazing at how many American products look like "gold." Not to mention it was all pretty expensive because it's imported...




Last Friday- Myself and two other exchange students pre-bought eleven Harry Potter (the original version with Spanish subtitles) tickets for (last) Saturday. Buying them together was necessary as here in Spain your seat number is important- there is no "First come, first serve."


Some of the exchange students had some fun with Harry Potter characters as well while walking aroudn Retiro Park. :)




Before the movie we ate at Foster's Hollywood- the only restaurant that gives free refills.





I hope everyone has an awesome Thanksgiving- as I myself have many things to be grateful for. I'll have more updates soon.


Happy Thanksgiving!

-mb

Eskwehla ehn Espahnya

I could write a book about school, but I don't have a publisher, so I'm stuck writing a blog post. Super. I hope you realize this is just "informative" more than anything else. It's a blog post I've been dreading to write for quite some time- due to the large quantity of necessary information that I feel like I need to cover, and the lack of school related pictures to make it look more interesting. But it sets the pace of my experience here in Spain, so it is necessary that I start with this:



HELLO, AMERICA!

Did we figure this one out or what! How DARE we accuse our country of doing anything wrong simply because of the fact we FIGURED OUT HOW TO RUN SCHOOL! If we get everything else wrong, IT DOESN'T MATTER! We have THE school!

THE SCHOOL!


Phew. Glad I could get that out of my system. So what am I talking about... THE school? Isn't school extremely boring? Don't we complain about how we would rather be doing other things? Sure. School is school. You sit, and learn. But I do not ever, EVER want anyone to forget how fortunate we are in the states.


Let's start with the basics. I'm breaking this up into sections. If I had a publisher he or she might say it looks more "appealing" to the reader. I would also like to point out how one thing relies on another, like a domino reaction.

School- I walk ten minutes to my school, 8 if you pick up the pace. One metro stop exactly. My school is 1 ESO through 2 Bachillerato, which is equivalent to 7th-12th grade in the states. 1 and 2 Bachillerato are optional in Spain. Let me add that failing a grade is common, and it is not unusual for more or less 1/4 of a class to have failed. In my grade, 1 Bachillerato, there are two classes. Science and ...arts? My class has 34 or so students, and the other is about equivalent. I'm in the science class. Both classes have mandatory subjects, and then specified classes. For example: we all have to take language & literature, but we take another science class while they Greek and Latin. Then, within our class we can pick Biology or Technical drawing, and English (different than the required) or French. Students from either the arts or sciences can be together during this time. Minus physical education, these two classes are the only times we have to switch classrooms. The teachers change classrooms instead of the students. Interesting, eh?

We do not have lockers at our school. We use our backpacks to carry around all of our stuff. There's actually a hook on the side of all of the desks to hang your backpack.

Schedule- Everyday is a different schedule. School days start at 8:45AM, and end at 2:30PM. Minus Wednesdays and Thursdays. Those days we get out at 3:30PM. Well, I lied. We get out when class is done, so if we are done early we get out early. And if the teacher is as hungry as the students, we go home early.

Hungry? We don't eat lunch at school. Yep you read that right. I go from 8:15AM to about 2:45 or 3:45 without lunch. Lunch is eaten in the house. We get a 25 minute "recreo" (recess) from 11:25 to 11:50AM, but at my school no one really brings food. I've talked to other exchange students from other schools who do, but for some reason eating at my school just isn't "the thing."

During "recreo" students in 1 & 2 Bachillerato can leave campus. We end up talking in a "park" (which is a swing set in the middle of a cement area with benches...) for a little bit before returning to class. I am appalled at the number of young smokers. And it's not just cigarettes.

Classes- are 50 minutes long, with 5 minutes for the teachers to change classes. I still haven't figured out how the tardy/absent system works, as school starts at 8:45AM. Today, for example, I was still walking to class as the bell rang. I walk into class, and there are 4 people in the room. No teacher in sight.

That would be a heck of a lot of absent players on the field that game day.


So after people come to class, (and finally the teacher) students who are "late" knock on the door and ask for permission to join class. Depending on how late they were, the teacher says yes, or if they are in a grumpy mood the students have to go to the library.

WHAT?! If you are late to class you just might get to skip it? Yes. BUT! Keep in mind, any exam would be a zero, any notes you would not get, and finally- being in good terms with your teacher just might determine if you pass the class or not. That leads me to my next topic...

Material- All books are purchased by the students. And don't get me wrong, it's $200-$350 for books. The ironic thing about books is we don't actually use them. The teacher just talks and talks and talks, writes on the board occasionally, and not much more. We don't get homework like we do in the states. It's a: take-your-book-home-and-study-on-you-own type of deal. It's interesting when we do get a handout, because they are always handwritten by the teacher.. minus some papers for English class. Those are copied from something. And since no actual photocopy is legit, you usually struggle to understand what the black and grey blotches are on a page.

Tests- OK, so no homework for students, how cool, huh? NOT! Since the teachers talk, students take notes from them, and occasionally from what is written on the board. The chalkboard. But we'll talk about that later. Tests are made up by the teachers, and since there are no grades for homework, tests more or less determine your grade. And tests here are definitely the most unfair and unreasonable thing I have encountered here.

The grading scale is from 1 to 10. Well, scratch that- it's possible to get a zero. A 5.5 is passing. Please do not even try to think of a '10' as an 'A', a '9' as a 'B', .....as 10's just do not happen and 9's are a rarity. Passing is considered just fine.

What I don't understand is how a student can receive a 5.55 on a test when there are no multiple choice or fill in the blanks. Like really, how can a teacher determine the grade when each question isn't a set-determined amount of points? So when one student gets a 1.5 and another gets a 1.25, how is it even possible for the teacher to know a .25 difference? This is where I have noticed teachers here are just incredibly terrible. Favorites and "who they think are smart so they just get a good grade" is practiced... a lot.

Teachers- Not only has my view on specific teachers changed dramatically since day one, I would like to point out I have a whole new respect for American teachers. Teachers here don't even get to class on time. Teachers in the states are in school before school even starts.

Not only are teaching methods different, but the level of respect for students is incredibly low. In a nutshell, teachers aren't concerned about students here. In fact, they don't even know their names half of the time. The kid next to me always says "Good morning" and never once gets a reply. It's kind of a joke now. Teachers come in, lecture, and leave. They aren't nice and, open for questions. It's interesting- because bachillerato IS optional, if you don't come to school it's not the biggest of deal. But- if you happen to be drawing something, or doing something else (starting out the window, looking at something else...) teachers will get all offended and scold the student to "behave better." Another exchange student got yelled at for stretching in class.

It's almost as if the teachers know the topic they are teaching, but fail to do a good job...teaching. Connecting with students. Being a person people can go to for help. Being a teacher with...character.

Mrs. Bladholm, you are my hero.

I would like to throw out the teacher on the first day of school that I thought would be the meanest turns out to be the one helping me the most. And the one I thought would be the nicest turns out to be the one I could talk some serious sense into. And I'm convinced my English teacher (who happens to be the most hated teacher in my whole school) is scared of me, knowing that my English is far more advanced than hers. This results in her being extremely rude to me, which to me I find almost funny. I mean, if someone was being over the top rude to you in broken English that makes no sense, you have to wonder- Who's teaching who what?- sometimes. English class makes me so angry it's ridiculous. It's my least favorite class. I always thought it would be fun, and I would be a big plus to the class, there to answer questions about cultural differences, etc. But no. Nothing.

Let me also add that if this teacher were to teach in the United States she would be sued by someone in less than a day by the way she talks to students. You can't yell and scream at a class to shut up the way she does. I tried to explain to a student that this behavior wouldn't be tolerated in the states.

He laughed.




My English Exam:

Revise the following sentences.

I had a dog when I was younger.


I______________________________.



(WHAT THE HECK?!)




I was also told to speak slower multiple times, and when my teacher doesn't understand something it's very obvious. For example, obviously I don't need to:

"Go and there you explain to the class how the exam."

She meant to tell me:

"Go to class and I will explain the exam to you."


And when she doesn't know how to say something in English, she starts speaking to me in Spanish... which is just strange.


I only mention this particular teacher because of the level of offense and disrespect I have received. Never in my life has I been treated like this from any other person, much less a teacher.



Exchange students- That's the other thing. Exchange students here aren't a big deal. Nothing like kids in the states. In fact, week 2 of school I found out that there were about 6 or 7 other new kids as well. Since all the schools are the same, no one really cares. It's not a big deal if you are new. I'm the first exchange student in my school. Ever. And the teachers don't know...what to do with me? Something like that. I was very rudely asked countless times why I was in Spain. And why I was enrolled at this school. I was told I was in the wrong place. I was told I couldn't be here. I was told that I needed to go to a school that taught in English. And even still, problems continue...

Organization- Does not exist. It's amazing that I could write Book 2 just on how unorganized things are here. I'll save my story on my visa paperwork for another day.

It's not just the fact that things are..."unorganized." It's the fact that nobody cares, and it's not their problem- it's yours. And if you don't know, well then...sucks for you. And if you can't speak Spanish? What the shenanigans are you doing in Spain? Why are you even here??

Oh yeah, classes don't get interrupted for anything. Not even if it's because the school lost your paper that you need for your meeting in two hours(because the principle who was supposed to sign it yesterday (at 2 o'clock...because they don't get to school before then. And school closes at 2:30PM?) went on vacation and nobody has his phone number or cares to look for it because it's on the secretary's desk and she's teaching a class) in order to renew your visa that you had to reschedule after going to three different wrong buildings and asking five people for directions because people can't give directions and you didn't have all the paperwork you needed in the first place because nobody cared to tell me what this meeting was about (because I'm always told different things by different people and my lack of Spanish even added to the whole disaster...) even though we got most of the paperwork my first three days in Spain (which was going to over thirteen different buildings, asked "adonde vamos?" more than two hundred, I stopped at that number because it started to get depressing...)


(I'm pretty sure my publisher would throw this paper back at me and tell me it's the most ridiculous run on sentence they have read...)


Yep. Bienvenidos a mi vida. Welcome to my life. My Spanish...life.


Now with the classroom.


Walls- A classroom is made up of four walls. Four, COMPLETELY BARE walls. No color, no posters, no inspirational quotes, NOTHING!

Windows- Windows have no screens. Therefore, things often get tossed out the window. Papers, nail clippings, gum, spit, soccer ball, you name it. If it's not wanted in the classroom, out the window it goes. I think there's actually some law about safety in the United States, and suicidal hazards. I could be wrong though.

And the teachers! Teachers always are getting mad about the freaking windows. They want them open, they want them closed. They want the blinds up, they want the blinds down. WE CAN NEVER MAKE THEM HAPPY!

Trash cans- are super small. As in, less than two feet tall by one foot in diameter. I tell ya, everything just goes out the window.

Emptiness- The classroom is empty. This isn't a third world country, but you do have to bring your own tissues to school. There are no staplers. Tape. Construction paper. Extra pens. Pencil sharpener. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

An somehow, it just works. But that's my next blog post.

Bathrooms- ARE CLOSED IN BETWEEN CLASSES! I just found this out today. This in itself I don't think would work in the states. I always wondered why people never left class... Oh yeah- there's usually never toilet paper in the bathrooms (or soap?). Or paper to dry your hands. In fact, there are barely mirrors. Our locker room is worse. One 2 foot by two foot mirror. And nobody showers. Or changes clothes really. But that almost works- as gym class is more or less a joke and nobody sweats.

Let me mention that deodorant could be mistaken for hairspray. &&The strong smell could knock you off your feet! I am very interested in how this European deodorant works...


Technology- Is non-existent. I think there is only one projector (the type that is attached to the ceiling...not the type that is a good 50 years old that physically switches slides like the one we use in biology...) in the school. And the laptop to play it from? We have to bring that and set it up. We are currently doing PowerPoint's, which reminds me of something else. Not only do we have to switch classrooms in order to use the projector- but I have never realized the level of intelligence American students have when preparing "professional" presentations. Most of us know that you can't read directly off the screen word for word, and your 30 or 40 slides should not have a background that's hard to look at. And a good 500 worded paragraph on one slide with symbols and tricks is obviously plagiarism.

There is a computer lab, however. Most of the computer don't work- but hey, it's there.

Sports- THERE ARE NONE. No school sports. No school colors. No school mascot. No school patriotism. There is NOTHING! And since I live in the center of Madrid, it's really hard to find things to do such as clubs for fun, or something on that line. Most things are pay-and-join a club...which is too far of a travel to commute to everyday. If someone finds out what kids do after school- PLEASE tell me. Even though I can't complain, I usually find a place to walk to in the city, whether it's a touristy thing to do or not, there's usually somewhere to go...



Well, this concludes it for now. Nine hours later and countless philosphy classes, and I have finished Part 1. I have so much more to say it's impossible to fit it all in one post. Hopefully you made it to the bottom, as I'm not sure if I would have the patience to sit and read something for that long. I don't even have time to read this back through to edit it haha...sorry.

I guess I can sum up things and say...well...I don't know. I'll leave you to ponder this post and have your own thoughts. Expect more soon.




'Til Later,


-mb


***Oh yeah. Colored chalk is our "new technology."

Before You Read

(In reference to future blogs)





The ABC's. Reading with an open mind. thanks :)





As my next blog posts contain a TON of information, it is very important for you to understand the following things:

A) These posts are written by me.

I say this because I am an exchange student from the USA. My views and experiences will be different than those of a typical Spaniard. I don't speak Spanish...enough. There are times of possible miscommunication. I stick out as a foreigner here.



B) I say it how it is.

I don't want to be a negative blogger, or someone who exaggerates. Those are no fun. I try to avoid bias opinions, or make ignorant comments. At the same time, please remember that I also try to give my point of view as an exchange student. I won't be telling you the names and history of Spain, or the significance of the monument that "what's his name" built muchos años ago. Yeaaaaaa no.

And please remember I live in Madrid. I don't know the life of someone in the north, or the south, on the east, or the west. And I will not generalize Spain together as a country. Comments are only from what I have experienced. Just think. If you were to live in your neighbor's house, it may seem like a different country.

Lifestyles are different. It doesn't matter how far you go.



C) Cat is to dog, as tree is to...blog?

If you can give me two minutes of a second grader's imagination, imagine this:

A tree grows from the ground, starting with the trunk. The trunk supports the entire tree. Next come the branches which expand the tree, making it bigger. After the branches come smaller branches, and finally leaves. Leaves work together to give a tree it's pretty color. Some leaves are rotten, and no individual leaf is perfect- but all of the leaves work together to give an overall pretty color. With leaves comes change. Seasons change leaves. There's nothing anyone can do about it. It's natural. Some changes make the leaves look prettier, while other changes make the tree look rather...not the greatest. But even during the harsh winter months, trees still have their place in nature with the beauty of ice and snow.


A blog. You start from the basics and write stories after you have established the base. It is impossible to understand the stories without understanding the basics. Some things I write might be compared to the ugly truth, while others might seem like "that perfect leaf." But not even how perfect something may seem, it still gets weathered and eventually ends up on the ground. But not even how terrible something may seem, it still has it's place on the tree, filling an empty space. If you were to pick off all of the leaves on a tree leaving only the good ones, you would be left with very few. Probably none.

Stories. They have their ups and downs. Not everything is perfect, while what might seem bad is natural. In order to understand one thing, you must understand the source.




Trees.

Maple, Oak, Pine.....Tourist, Exchange Student, Native.

All share some same qualities. All have a trunk, all need the basics of life to live, all go through changes, etc. But within trees are differences, even though more or less it is the same concept.



And just like trees, every exchange student's experience will be different.





And then some things just won't make any sense.





(Please read future blogs to understand...)





Happy Gopher Day


-mb




Pictures 2,6,8,and 12 credited to Caroline.

seventeen

So here I am, one day shy of being 17. Where has time gone? Or is time the one that moves? Because I think people move. Time just happens. People learn. People change. People grow. People move.

And people, are most definitely the ones who make the world go round.

At almost 17 it's amazing to look back and see what I've done. Accomplished. Finished. Learned. It's amazing to look back and see the places I've been, the people I've met, and the things that have changed myself as a person. I feel like this is a marker on my life timeline. The significance? Not much. Just another birthday. But for the first time when I turned around to see what has fulfilled these 17 years, there was a different feeling. My time here in Spain has taught me more than I know. The little things that I have gotten used to, the lessons I've learned, and most of all- the people I've met. There is no explanation to describe some of the friends that I have made, and how grateful I am to have them. And with this experience I have confirmed one important lesson. It's not the places you go, or the things you do- it's the people.


People fulfill life.

Not places, or monuments. Not beaches, or mountains. Not money, not gifts. How boring would life be without being accompanied by our friends? The world is one, big place. Sure there are different cultures, languages, religions, or countries... but in the end, the world is our place.

Our one place, together. People are people. It doesn't matter where you are from.

I would like to point out how much I have learned from people all over the world. My friends? I have many. From Kentucky to New York. Massachusetts to Washington. Texas to Missouri. Minnesota to Florida. England to Japan. Thailand to Germany. Italy to Norway. The connection between the exchange students is incredible. Exchange students are the best people to talk to. They understand everything you are going through. Fortunately, I am lucky enough to have the best group of friends anyone could ask for. Saturday my awesome friend Caroline got a group of students together and we went to a theme park in Madrid. Not only did she plan the party, she brought a cake. An ice cream cake.

"And those are freaking hard to find in this country."

The thing is, we have these great ideas. But something always pops up that turns our "good idea" into a complete project or adventure. Like Caroline bought me a cake. But that required her taking it on the bus (which she had to sprint to for a heck of a long way) and then later on the metro, and finally to the theme park. Now, she brought JUST the cake so that required me 'borrowing' a knife from the Chinese restaurant we ate at. Getting the cake into the park required putting the cake (and the knife) in Mackenzie's purse. (picture above) We enjoyed our cake sitting on some nice green grass that had a 'DO NO WALK ON GRASS' sign. But of course... in Spanish. We then had no spoons/forks/napkins/plates to eat an ice cream cake. Therefore, this was the best ice cream cake experience I've ever had in my life. Oh yeah, we could at least wash our hands after eating. Phew.

But there were no paper towels or dryer, so...yeah.




Jake also has a really awesome blog you should read- he's one of the other students in central Madrid. He has another blog on the day too.

http://jakeinmadrid.blogspot.com/2010/10/afs-amistades-forjadas-para-siempre.html


That's all I've got for the night. I have another post coming soon.

Picture below credited to Jake




Hope your day is filled with a bunch of squirrely adventurous things as well


-mb

the trip

After all the time I spent trying to think of a creative introduction apologizing for such a terrible lack of blogging, I only came up with this. Sorry.


The trip.


So finally after all of the packing, re-packing, packing once again, and final goodbyes I was on my way. It was weird going to visit the school wearing a visitor's pass my last day in town. I didn't get to say goodbye to everyone, but as I mentioned before- I will be back.




So Monday night we drove the three hours to the twin cities. Thankfully we only had to turn around once, fifteen minutes out of town. Note to Self: take your credit cards out of the copier after copying them. You just might need the originals for them to work.

In the cities I met Grace, and it was so weird to think of how time flies- just the other day I was wishing her a farewell to Germany. That night I got about three hours of sleep, waking up at around 3:30 AM to catch my 7:00AM flight. After saying goodbye before security I had no thoughts, tears, nothing. It would have been simpler if someone would have told me what to do. How do you just walk away from your life? Everything that you've ever known- and change to the unknown. Where can you get instructions for that?

My flight to New York City was amazingly on time, as the flight was not as weird or dramatic as some people may think. Keep your focus and you're fine... But focus on what? Where you're going? Where is that? Just a name you've seen on paper. Perhaps a few pictures.

The less you think about it, the better.


New York City. Wow. And no, you cannot see the Statue of Liberty when you fly in. At least, I didn't. After claiming my bag (singular- and in ONE bag.) and taking a shuttle, I found my way to the baggage claim spot where all of the AFS kids meet. I arrived about 10:30AM NYC time, and in a nutshell was there until 3:00PM. Thankfully a few minutes after arriving there another student going to France was also early, and shortly after another student going to Spain. Volunteers didn't come until about an hour or two later, so it was like an AFS party at baggage claim. But that's cool.

The other students were all doing just fine as well. Being with other kids doing the same thing as you? Amazing. It was Part 1 of the reality we were all going off on our own. Picking up your bags and leaving. Literally.

It made me feel older than college students.

College. That's kid's stuff.

Oh what a major event in one’s life. The high school graduation ceremony- stating that you’ve officially done something with your life, and have successfully not become a bum on the street. It’s the stepping stone declaring that you’re not a little kid anymore, and have moved on to adulthood. And then your graduation party- visit from friends, family, your parent’s friends, people you’ve never seen before, (but got the invitation on Facebook..) people who are there for the food, people who bring you nice gifts, and lots of goodbyes- guest books, cards, farewells, and most important- “good luck.”


But where are you going?

College of course. The scary place where everything is different and you are on your own.

That’s funny.


‘But seriously!’ College is known for the time when you are off on your own. I am wrong? Isn’t it the time when you get all your scrapbooks out, look back at your childhood, and try to convince yourself you are now on your own? If you screw up, it’s your own fault now. You’re on your own to figure out how not to gain the freshman fifteen.

You’re right, America. College is a big chapter to your life. But you are most certainly not on your own. "On your own" and "Understanding" have two totally new meanings now. I will never view college the same again.



So back to my story. Orientation.

The hotel we stayed at was nice, and there were other AFSers there going to Egypt, Turkey, Switzerland, France, (biggest group of 50..4?) Austria, and a few other countries. All of the students going to Spain were there, and it was a lot of fun to get to know the other students.




Orientation was really a good thing. We didn't see the outside world for like two days but in the end I am really glad that AFS has this orientation. Not only do you get time with the other students, (and trust me, we had spare time. too much, but all in good fun) you start to understand the reality of your situation. You start to see other students say goodbye to their parents, (the ones who were lucky enough to be able to drive to the hotel...) get the opportunity to talk to current AFSers, and others who went on exchange before. Photo credited to Sarah Schooler




A turning point and possibly my favorite part of orientation is when a staff member asked all of us-

"So who here has talked to people or has friends who think you are completely crazy for going on exchange?"



Every single hand was raised.



And that in itself, made my day.









We flew to Switzerland, and later we caught our flight to Madrid. From NYC to Zurich our pilot introduced himself and all the rules in German and English.

"On behalf of Captain Hook and Swiss Airlines, we hope you have a great flight."


Yep, nope, not a joke. His name was Captain Hook.




The connection in Switzerland was quite fun, and a few of my friends and I bought Swiss chocolate (of course) and found out the there is a different type of currency in Switzerland. But we only found that out when we went to the second store. The first store accepted our Euros. So that was really confusing.




Arriving to Madrid was alarming. Like fire engines leaving the station. Lights, horns, and everything.




You fly from Switzerland over these beautiful mountains, and then pass through the beautiful green France, and finally get to...the Sahara Desert?!
The first thing I noticed was the non-existence of green. Anywhere. Everything is dry. And I think I saw a... plateau? Oh yeah, and there are mountains. Minus snow. So they pretty much look like big hills instead of mountains.

The Lion King could be filmed in Spain. Who would've known?

I never understood why the USA was always looked at as the "country of skyscrapers." But I completely understand why now. When you fly into Madrid, it's almost like someone designed it to be a joke to exaggerate the USA stereotype. From the airplane, you can clearly see FOUR individual skyscrapers. In a straight line. This for some reason, was alarming. I should have expected it, but after not having sleep for I don't even know how many hours, things like this really alarm you. Now of course I don't think much about it, and the four towers are like a center point- you know how far away or in which direction you are from the center of the city simply by looking to see you position from the towers. And ask anyone in Madrid what the four towers are. They know what you're talking about.

So after getting off the plane, someone immediately asked me for directions (who immediately walked away from me as soon as I start to speak, realizing I don't speak Spanish). So that was another red flag, as if someone were teasing you. "Look! Not only do you NOT know where you are, but you also don't speak the language as well!

Hah! Good luck!"

But no, it was good. The trip with the students went well, and I don't even think anyone lost any luggage. Not going to lie- one of my biggest fears. I forgot to mention it was quite the site watching all of us AFS kids travel in bright yellow t-shirts. From security at JFK to the hostel in Madrid- the Americans were clearly visible. I wonder what the people on our flight thought as they were waiting for the plane, watching us with our video cameras, or taking photos, playing spoons (without spoons) with wayy too many people... Not only did we have the shirts, but everyone had a number- someone would yell "Airport numbers, GO!" and 1-31 everyone would shout out their number so we could make sure we had everyone. I found this entertaining every time :)


After arriving in Madrid, going through another orientation, and spending the night, the next day we finally got to meet our host family. This opens up a completely new chapter in my AFS experience which I will continue with another blog post to follow.

So I forgot to mention, but by now (if you've made it this far) you probably have noticed that I have Internet. Wifi!!! (pronounced 'we-fee' here)I'm very excited. As long as this works I now have no excuse for not keeping my blog updated. More to come soon.




Chau!

-mb

Spain on Strike

Strike. Yes. I realize I am jumping out of order but I wanted to make sure that I posted this particular event of the day that it happened.

Two days ago I was informed that today Spain would be on "Huelga General" (General Strike). No FLIGHTS, buses, stores, restaurants, school, or metro. No specific group in general was targeted.

You heard them! The people don't want to work!... So they don't.


Basically, this is what happened. But I wasn't really sure what to expect. Where I live most everyone walks to school, so most kids showed up. In places where most kids take the bus? Yep. No school. The city buses are shut down for now. But the metro isn't working at 100% as in, it is running but there are about half the number of trains so you have to wait a bit.


The following explanation of today cannot fully be comprehended or appreciated without previous information which I have yet to post. I am very sorry in the lack of posts, but until I have more time it is very hard to write with such limited Internet. Please re-read this again in the future after I better explain what life is like in Spain. For me, atleast.


Yesterday we all got a note from the headmaster person/guy. It pretty much stated that school was our choice. I think I'll frame that and hang it on my wall back in the states.


It's very easy to watch the news in the morning and be in awe like, "Wow, That's us! The USA! That's New York!" or even maybe some place closer. But how often is your city on TV? Your city, as in, where you live. Yes, that was obvious. But I mean like, WHERE YOU LIVE. Your town. Not thirty minutes in the car, but YOUR TOWN. I'm located IN Madrid. Not an hour away. Madrid-Madrid. Ah-k, good.. I'm glad we got that clear.

Well, Madrid was on TV this morning. Not unusual considering it's the biggest city in Spain. But the news this morning was about the strike. People with signs, people burning police cars, trash cans, random objects... people shouting, protesting, putting some kind of stickers on store windows... people cheering when stores closed... people clogging the streets and yelling at police, bus drivers, etc. Places I've been to for shopping, eating, or just walking around were guarded by lines of police. Not police as in the town sheriff. Police in their entire costume. As in, shields, masks, and guns-that-if-I-ever-saw-in-person-I-would-be-running-in-the-other-direction. That type of costume.

So I walk to school and get to my class not knowing what to expect. There were only 5 other students there... until about 15 minutes after class starting, when we had 22. I was told that I should probably go to school since most teachers were coming, and most everyone could walk. The first three classes we kept our 22 kids. We actually have 34 altogether, but 12 decided they were going to go on strike too.

After the three morning classes, we had our 25 minute recess when we are free to leave the school campus. The proposed idea was to have everyone just leave. Because if everyone just leaves, it's impossible to teach a class. And what the heck, it was our choice.

The picture is my class when there was only 10 students. You can see the other nine and most (but not all) of the empty seats. The first desk on the left is mine. If you look closely, my Spanish-English dictionary is sitting on top of my 501 Spanish verbs book, along with two other notebooks. Those are the only books I need for class :)

The first class after our little recess had 14 students. I couldn't help but smile when the teacher was taking attendance. She didn't understand what was funny so I had to explain to her that this never happens in the United States. And if it did, I'm pretty sure the police would be at the school. She understood where I was coming from, but the thing about teachers here is that they don't really care. The catch to the huelga for school is, if you don't show up and there's a test, you get a zero. If you don't show up and there are notes you need for an exam, you don't get them. If there's homework, you don't know what it is. For the teachers, it's your problem, not theirs. And if you fall behind or get a bad grade, well... that sucks for you. The next class was divided up. Students go to either biology or technical drawing. There were 9 kids in my biology class. The next class we were all back together again in our homeroom type group (of 34), and there were only 10 this time. We lost 4 somewhere. But the teacher just had it as a study hall I think. I don't understand much, or any at school (I will have another post on school) so I don't know if the rest of the class had an assignment or not. I just enjoyed reading my Spanish-English dictionary. Fun, I know. The next and final class, the teacher walked in (we don't change classes, the teachers do) and just looked at us and was like, well heck with this, go home. Hahahah... so home we went. And that was my day at school, during a country-wide huelga.

The thing right now I don't understand is what the huelga is about. It's something about something that was just passed (sorry for my lack of political terms...) concerning something with the something for money for people who work.
Welcome to my world of not understanding.
But I should really research the topic and become one of those people who are "educated on the news". The other thing I don't really understand is how it works. By watching the news after I got home (minus the ability to understand the newscasters) I got a feeling people just closed their stores out of fear of the groups of people who would come and try to get them to close. I'm not sure. It's interesting watching dramatic actions when you can't understand what they are saying. They look like a bunch of fools. But, perhaps that was just me.

So, to wrap up the huelga some people did have school today. Some people's school got let out early, and others didn't go to school at all. But it's all the same, because it was our choice. I have a friend who attends a school where buses are necessary for most students, therefore nobody went to school at all. My younger host brother who is 11 was told NOT to go to school BY the school. I guess the teachers there went on strike. But everyone else in my host family who works went to work. Someone also mentioned a good point- I'm in (grade) Primero Bachillerato, which is optional. Obligatory school ended the year before, so that really adds to the "it's your choice" and the teachers' "sucks for you" attitude.

A good day of new cultural experiences I'd say. I just hope tomorrow it's a normal day, and nobody is still mad. I need to use the metro and bus system, and not having that is not worth to missing one class. It's my only source of transportation. And I don't exactly want to come accross a group of angry people. But I don't think that will happen. I mean, I hope not. It's not like a "Oh how sweet! Let's take some pictures" moment. But if you know where you're going, you should be fine.

Oh yeah, and I tried to explain to some people here that in the United States, if you just don't show up to work- you just might get fired. As in, most of the time. There are so many people in the states looking for a job, we don't just not go to work. I mean, really guys.




That's all I can really think of right now for the huelga. I will update all of the inbetween moments that I missed soon. There's so much to say, it's incredible. And most of all I hope I don't bore anyone with my long, totally insane stories. But keep checking, there's more to come soon.





Peace


-mb

Internet

Internet. Simply a necessity to update my blog. Unfortunately I haven't been able to post anything due to the lack of, well, Internet. What I am using now does not hold a connection long enough to write another blog entry. (?!) Yep.
I hope to be able to update soon in the next coming week. I have so much to say as the first 26 days have brought new experiences, challenges, ups, and downs. I will be able to start from the beginning as soon as I am able to get a decent internet connection. Never in my life have I ever adored the United States for great Internet and phone plans as much as I do now.



May the force be with you..


-mb