Learning to Grow

It’s times like these when things get rough and you learn to look deep inside yourself and realize you’re finally growing up.  It is my first holiday and Thanksgiving away from my family and the United States.  You would think it’s not that big of a deal but here I am buying fresh vegetables at the market to make mashed potatoes for 15+ people, root vegetables, apples for apple pie, a pumpkin to make pumpkin pie from scratch and ordering a 22 lb turkey all in Spanish.  Definitely not how I thought my first Thanksgiving away from home would start out.  Let’s hope what starts well, ends well.  (I think I got that saying wrong).   I am definitely looking forward to cooking on my own for this feast, trying to impress our Spanish friends (whom are coming to the feat on Thursday, November 25^th) about the American tradition and culture on this wonderful holiday.  Yes, we have invited our Spanish friends and even some teachers.  Yikes!  Definitely makes me homesick but I have a visitor coming in a week and then for Christmas I get to be blessed with the presence of my mother and sister.

 After a long day at the market, here are Martha and Emily with only

 some of our supplies for Thanksgiving.  

Aside from the holiday spirit of Thanksgiving, I have completely been hit by the Spanish education system.  I gave my first test ... I handed the test out and the first thing the teacher does it tell a student he can color the pictures.  I asked why he got to color the pictures and not do the test.  “Oh, because he doesn’t know how to write … in Spanish or in English” … Let me remind you that this is my FOURTH GRADE CLASS.  How do you get all the way to grade FOUR, let alone one, two or three without knowing how to WRITE?!?!?!  That would never pass in the United States.  I was appalled!   Then the students started asking questions about certain words (that were the answers) and the teacher was giving them!  I eventually stepped in a told her not to answer their questions and to let me handle it.  If they had questions about what something meant I would help them (like my Spanish teachers did for me) but I refused to give them the answers!  

 When I got the tests back to grade … needless to say my jaw dropped about a foot.  Within 15 minute of briefly looking through the tests I marched right back to the teacher and asked her how I was supposed to grade this … She simply said, “They are FATAL” (HORRIBLE).  There were tests that had nothing written, ones that had the question copied for the answer, ones that were in Spanish, and ones that just colored the pictures.   She then said that there were students that simply didn’t care and some parents didn’t encourage education.   I asked her how to grade it and she said however I want.  I thus decided that as a class the students were going to grade their own tests as to help them learn and realize that studying is necessary.  We corrected them in class and of course the students knew all the answers!  I did not understand then why they did so poorly but I told them I hoped that next test would be better.  I was amazed how much they don’t care or try for their education.   It’s also sad to realize how much some of the teachers here do not care.  They simply tell you not to bother with students that are slower at learning cause they won’t catch on.  I try to take time to help these students rather than let them drift further and further behind.  I think it is important for everyone to be given a chance.  

Moving away from education, this weekend there is a Medieval Festival in my town and part of it is actually right outside my bedroom window.  There are many vendors with all types of goods such as swords, jewelry, paintings, different types of herbs and teas, birds of pray, food stands with different things and a old school carousel.  I walked around it a lot today and yesterday.  Last night I actually ate a pita with falafel and it was delicious.  There are also people playing music, donkey rides (I feel bad), and everyone is dressed up in costumes (the vendors that is).  Pretty neat for a small town!  

 Setting up their tents and all the flags

 Carousel

 Swords

 

Burros

Well … That’s it for now but I will update soon after my first Thanksgiving feast!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Besos,

Julie