Illness, thankfulness, field trips.

Hello everyone! First let me start by wishing you a belated Happy Thanksgiving. I am currently listening to Christmas music which makes me incredibly happy :)

Obviously I have slacked off with updating my blog, but my justification is a good one. Unfortunately I have been pretty sick recently. I’ve had some form of a cold on and off for a month and half (the majority of the time I’ve been here) but it escalated into something worse. Finally, I had a complete breakdown one recent Monday at school which resulted in me crying like a little child in the principles office, explaining how I was tired of being sick and wanted my mom, and the principle taking my temperature. “OOOh 38 centígrados…”, she said. This resulted in more tears and me replying in Spanish, “I don’t even know what that means!” Well, it meant I had a fever. The result was a week off of work resting, several 30 second visits with my worthless Spanish doctor, and un montón (a whole bunch) of tests for my lungs. I haven’t gotten the final test results, but I have an American friend here who already finished med school and is taking a year sabbatical before doing residency. I told him everything that had happened and he thinks I had pneumonia. I agree. Luckily thanks to a week of doing nothing and some antibiotics I am feeling much better.

Harder than being sick was being sick in a foreign country. I found the medical system supremely frustrating. The doctor quite literally gives you ten seconds to explain what’s wrong with you before cutting you off and making a decision as to your fate. And from talking to other Spaniards, this is not exclusive to my crappy doctor; it’s just the way things are here. I also had several interactions with the “clinica” which is basically the hospital where you have x-rays, blood tests, and MRIs (all of which I had). In order to get the procedure, you have to bring a slip from your doctor requesting it. On one occasion I brought the slip for the MRI rather than the slip for the blood test which I needed in order to get the MRI. So back home I went. At least all of it was free.

All I wanted was to be in my own bed, with chicken noodle soup and saltines (neither of which exist here). It was hard to do all that medical business completely on my own. But in the end I feel better and pretty proud I was able to get through it all, and in Spanish!! Feeling better physically has also helped me feel better mentally. My first two months here have been less than a fairy tale and I would be lying if I said there weren’t times I wanted to pack my bags and head for the airport. But I sort of feel like I’m past my low point, and now that I’m better I can really start enjoying my time here.

My new found health and positive attitude left me very excited for Thanksgiving (Día de accion de gracias), even though I was spending it away from home. My friends Blair and Eimear decided to host Thanksgiving since they have the biggest apartment. The guests included: Blair, Eimear, Me, my two roommates Liz and Melanie, two English girls, one Scottish girl, and five Spanish girls who are our friends. So it was the first Thanksgiving ever for 8 of the 13 attendees! I don’t have a lot of experience in the kitchen but I made a spinach-artichoke dip and a sweet potato casserole and I was pleasantly surprised that everyone loved them! Our table was a big mix of Spanish, English, laughter, and ooohs and aaaws over every tasty dish. I explained the tradition where you go around the table and everyone says something they’re thankful for. But with our mixed guest list, we decided everyone had to do this in both Spanish and English. This was definitely a struggle for some, but everyone managed and we all applauded each other. It was really touching because the Spanish and British girls were so thankful to be invited since they understood what a special day it was for us. I think we (the Americans) were all really thankful to be in such warm company on a day that could have otherwise been a sad one. I did not expect this, but it was an unforgettable experience and one of my most memorable Thanksgivings to date.

In other news, Marta, who I teach with, was sick two days last week which left me teaching by myself. I was nervous but it went really well. Of course with the second graders I spent the first five minutes of class answering, “Where’s Marta?? What happened to Marta???” But once we got that matter settled everything was fine. I did notice, however, that I am starting to be a little more lax with my use of Spanish. We were explicitly forbidden to use a single word of Spanish when we started the job. I understand the reasoning, and I have really made every effort. But when it is time to discipline a second grader who really doesn’t understand, “Stop hitting Pablo with your pencil or I swear I will take you to the principles office!” then I will resort to Spanish. There are other instances where I’ve found it necessary. For example, when a fifth grader didn’t understand the word “against”. How do you explain the word against without just giving the direct translation (contra)? “Well, against is when… like when two teams play each other… or when…. you don’t agree with someone….” Enemies? No. Opposite? No. Different? CONTRA!!! Ok I give up, it’s contra!!!! And just like that you clear up all the confusion.

The other highlight of the school week happened when I got to take my first and second grade classes on a field trip Thursday. Each of the American teaching assistants gets to go on one field trip. I missed the last one to Escorial (which is a Spanish palace of sorts) and I was pretty jealous of the girl who got to go. The vice principal told us on Wednesday that one of us needed to go on the field trip the next day to la granja (the farm). This didn’t really appeal to me right away. But one of the other teachers, Visi, told me in confidence that it is by far the best excursión and that I should try to go. Based on this advice, I said I’d take it. So we all got to school early Thursday to get the kids ready. In the hall, Salma (the future supermodel second grader) ran up to me and exploding with excitement told me, “Audrey, vamos en una excursion hoy!!” (We’re going on a field trip today!) I told her that I was going, too which made her give me a big hug. How exciting. We packed up the buses as the over protective Spanish mothers lined the sidewalk to give a final wave (don’t they have jobs?!?!) and hit the road. I thought it was great to see that Spanish kids are just like American kids when riding the bus: songs are a must. The best song went like this, “Rosa robó pan en la casa de San Juan.” (Rosa stole bread from Saint Juan’s house.) Then Rosa responds, “Quién yo?” (Who me?) And everyone yells, “Sí tú!” and Rosa responds, “Yo no fui” (It wasn’t me.) and everyone yells, “Entonces quién?” (Then who?) Then Rosa yells out the name of another student, “Jose!” and the song repeats using Jose. The funniest part about this game was that the kids thought it was hilarious to pick me just about every other time. So it went like this, “Audrey robó pan en la casa de San Juan.” But I had to reply in English, “Who me?”, “Sí tú!” “It wasn’t me.” “Entonces quién?” and then I’d pick Paula. Of course at the end of her song Paula would pick me again. This continued the entire bus ride. But I didn’t mind.

When we got to la granja the farm group leaders pretty much took the kids off our hands and did all the work the rest of the day. The teachers then went and had a really nice breakfast and coffee. Nooooow I see why this was the best field trip ;) After that we went around the farm and took pictures of the kids doing the various activities. They rode a horse and made apple marmalade and got to pet lots of different animals. But the best activity, I thought, was when they got to watch how a slaughtered pig was hung out to dry and then separated in to all the different types of ham. These kids are between 5 and 7 mind you. They thought it was great. I thought it was hysterical. The group leaders pointed to the giant dead pig and explained, “This part of the pig is where we get jamón Serrano..” and the kids all went, “mmmmm jamón Serrano!!!” They weren’t really fazed by the giant carcass which I thought was kind of cool. Says a lot about the Spanish.

The teachers were also treated to a big lunch which I’d say is the best meal I’ve had here. That’s because all the food came straight from the farm. It was all delicious.

I’ve started going to church again with Eimear who is also Catholic. There is a beautiful Cathedral right by my house and since I live in kind of a swanky neighborhood it’s fun to see all the ladies go in their giant fur coats. There’s something comforting about mass here being pretty much the same as it is at home, minus the English. Well, there are some differences. There’s no music. No big entrance or exit. It’s pretty much a condensed, straight-to-the-point version of mass, except the priest’s sermon is much longer. But I look at it as good language practice. Today he talked about Saint Joseph and the Holy Family. The funny part is that I didn’t pick up that he was talking about Joseph til about a minute in. He kept saying, “Jose” and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out who Saint Jose was. But then he said, “Jose, Maria’s husband and Jesus’ father.” And then came my light bulb moment when I realized I was an idiot and obviously Jose was Joseph. There’s always more to learn!

Sorry for the excessive length of this post. Now that I’m feeling better I will do this more often and with fewer words! I hope everyone is getting in the Christmas spirit!

Besos,

Audrey

In my Halloween goodie bag: a new president and penicillin!!!

Hellooooo. Oh gosh, so much has happened in the last week or two....

First off, I hope everyone had a very Happy Halloween! The holiday was a bit depressing here because, well, it's not really a holiday at all. People know what Halloween is but that's about as far as it goes. Visi, one of the teachers at my school explained that it's difficult for a lot of Spaniards to be cheery and celebrate because Saints Day is November 1 and it is a very somber and serious occasion. Regardless, it's becoming a little more popular each year. Five years ago, no one knew what it was. Now there are a few decorations up here and there. But no one trick or treats or carves pumpkins and I only saw a handful of people wearing costumes.

The costume issue is a funny one. The three other auxiliares and I decided to attempt to wear costumes to school on Halloween to celebrate. So I was a pirate, Kristen was a basketball player, Kellie was a baby, and John was an old lady or something. The assistant principle saw our costumes and was very confused and said, "but those things aren't scary....?". I explained that in the US most people don't wear scary costumes. They try to be funny or creative or pretty. Clearly this message hasn't crossed the pond yet because the few people I saw going out to celebrate on the metro in costumes were generally COVERED in blood, had a fake knife going through their head, and wore fangs.

In the spirit of spreading my American culture to the little ones, I organized the Halloween lesson for Primeros and Segundos. We had them all make masks of either ghosts, vampires, or witches and they also made a "basket" out of paper pumpkins and some crafty gluing. I brought a bag of candy (which was very hard to find in any grocery store) and made a "door" out of poster board. I explained that in America little kids get dressed up and go knock on doors and get candy in their baskets. So they had to come to my "house", knock on my "door" and say "trick or treat" and I would give them a piece of candy. This was about the most mind-blowingly exciting thing they had ever heard. The room was in chaos. Visi was screaming, "But only quiet children will play Halloween!!!" So they all came through with their homemade masks and knocked on my poster board door and mumbled something similar to trick or treat and I put a sucker in their paper pumpkin basket. It wasn't perfect, but it worked and they really seemed to love it.

Shortly after Halloween came the BIIIIIG day - Election Day! I had mailed my ballot long ago, but I was so excited to see the results! My American friends and I decided to go to a results watching party in Bellas Artes hosted by Democrats Abroad. When we got there, we were shocked to see a line that wrapped up Alcala for probably half a mile and camera crews interviewing Americans. We waited in line for an hour and a half before finally getting inside. It was a little difficult with the time change, because we didn't really get any meaningful east coast results until around 1am. And since we had work the next day we couldn't hold out much longer than that. I stayed long enough to see that Obama won Ohio and I felt confident I could sleep soundly. It was really incredible to see how many Americans were living in Madrid, either studying or working. It was also pretty cool to see how many Spaniards were there to cheer and celebrate, also. The next morning I woke up to fantastic news and I am unbelievably happy for our nation and the world. And now I can come back to the US after all! :)

While I was a little jealous that I wasn't in the states to celebrate, I realize it's actually a really great experience to be here right now and to see how the world is reacting. The newspapers were all Obama covers of course, but it was funny to read the articles. There was no mention of disappointed McCain supporters or concerns about the new president elect. All the news coverage here has just been one big, teary, joyous Obamafest. There are high hopes over here for the new president and the new nation. I have sensed (and American friends here agree) that the election results changed global opinion of the US and its residents overnight. It seems like a bit of an exaggeration, but I don't think it is. Teachers at school came up to me grinning and said, "Estás contenta?!?!" (Are you happy?) and I told them that, yes, I was very very happy.

I would say that the vast majority of people here are ecstatic about Obama. Countless people have expressed to me how happy they are for us. But I have had a few experiences that I think are pretty telling of Spanish culture (or at least a minority of Spanish culture). The first was the day before the election. I give private lessons to the daughter of another teacher at my school. On this day the girl's father drove me home. I mentioned that the election was tomorrow and he asked me if I was for Obama and I said yes. And he said in Spanish, "Well you'll have to change the name of the White House to the Black House." I kind of laughed it off but I didn't think he was kidding.

The worst incident happened just last night. Blair and I went to dinner at a very small Spanish place by my house. There was on older man who was obviously busy working the bar, the kitchen, and waiting tables. We sat down and he took our order, came back with our food, and asked where we were from. We told him we were from the US. He said (in Spanish), "So, did you vote for Obama?" and I said, "Yes, we did. We're very happy." He responded, "Well I'm not happy at all. He's black." We were both a little shocked and I said, "Well he's extremely intelligent. He went to Harvard Law School." The man replied, "I don't care where he went to school. There's no such thing as an intelligent black person." We were both kind of floored, not to mention annoyed. I told him I completely disagreed and Blair said, "Things are different in the US and you'll see that you're wrong." He laughed and said, "This would never happen here in Spain. We know better. Blacks are all terrorists and murders, and nothing else." And then we asked for the check!

I wouldn't want to give the impression that all, or even most Spaniards think this way. Like I said, the HUGE majority of people here are thrilled with Obama. But it would also be dishonest not to share that I have noticed much more racism here than in the states. There are really awful posters all over my neighborhood for Frente Nacional, which is a political organization working to keep Spaniards "first" and to fight immigration. (Hey, I’m an immigrant, too!) There are also government billboards and posters showing a black person and a white person shaking hands with a message that says, "Con la integración de los inmigrantes todos ganamos"... (with the integration of immigrants we all win!). Am I in the 1970s?! Something else that really bothers me is that Spaniards refer to ALL Asians as "chinos". Chinese? Chino. Vietnamese? Chino. Korean? Chino. Thai? Chino. What?!?! These are not even remotely similar cultures!!! All of this only serves to make me appreciate how far our nation has come in the last few decades. We're not perfect, but I think there is something truly special and welcoming about America.

Lastly, I have been pretty sick lately, which is just not like me. I chalk it up to being surrounded by children all day and using the metro constantly. That and the fact that fruits, vegetables, and vitamins practically don't exist here. I had finally had enough so I went to the doctor on Thursday. Everyone in Spain can go to the doctor for free. But there is also "private" health insurance which basically helps you get an appointment faster. You see the same doctors and get the same medicine, you just wait a little less. The program I'm in provides us with private insurance, so I looked up my closest doctor and it turns out he works on my street about two doors down. I called to make an appointment only to find out that you don't make appointments. You just show up. And what hours is the good doc in? Oh, between 4pm and 6pm of course. Rough life.

I made my way over to the doctor with a laundry list of symptoms I had made sure I knew how to say in Spanish. Congested chest, achy joints, hot and cold spells, runny nose, all that good stuff. When the doctor saw me after a short wait, I sat down in a chair in his office (as in an office with a desk and books, no examining table or medical supplies) and he said "Dime" which is like, "tell me." With that lovely introduction I began to tell him, "Well, I'm very congested in my chest...." and before I can get out another word he's already got the stethoscope on me and telling me to breathe. Then he sits back down and asks what else. I explain, "Well my joints ache and I get really hot and really cold and...." and then I notice he's scribbling on a pad.... is he writing me a prescription???..... but I..... At this point the doctor stands up and says, "Ok. You take this one morning and night, and you take this one morning, night and afternoon. Got it?" Ummmm, ok. I guess. I'm thinking, but you didn't listen to the fifteen other symptoms I was ready to describe to you!!

I'd say the "visit" clocked in at under 60 seconds. He didn't tell me what he thought was wrong with me, nor what it was he prescribed to me. I found out later it was a fever reducer and antibiotics akin to amoxicillin. Care to ask if I'm allergic to penicillin??? Apparently not.

On the plus side, the visit was free, and the two prescriptions combined ran me about $5 (and that's for everyone. Pharmacies don't care about insurance). Whereas in the US you might wait out a bug because you don't want to deal with a $20 co-pay or an expensive prescription (or even worse, if you don't have insurance at all) here I wouldn't think twice about getting something checked out. On the down side, I wouldn't exactly say quality medicine is being practiced. What if I had had something much more serious but he didn't recognize it because he listened to me for five seconds? What if I had been allergic to penicillin, taken his prescription, and died. So let's hope Obama's universal healthcare plan offers better quality medicine than Spain.

Well then. This has gone on for quite a while! Home Alone II is on in Spanish and making me very excited for Christmas! I will be spending Christmas with my friend Linzy who is living in Paris. There are tons of Christmas lights all over Madrid that they are going to switch on any day now. Without Thanksgiving to break things up, Spaniards are prematurely pumped for Christmas way before Americans are! Hope everyone is well! Big hug from Spain.

P.S. special thanks to Leane who sent me an awesome care package!!! You rock!!