"A computer in every classroom" and a statue of Cervantes in every city

Last Wednesday, CRA Valle de Bullaque, the school where I work, was given a very special honor: our humble cole (their nickname of endearment for colegio, the word for school) was to be made the place where the president of the region of Castilla-La Mancha, José María Barreda, would officially inagurate his campaign to place a new computer into every classroom throughout the region (note: both links are in Spanish). Needless to say, it was quite the event with much pomp, circumstance, and politiking. But before any of that could get underway, organized preparations were called for so that the school, already situated in a new and attractive building, could be made all the more so with, among other things, decorative hands and feet colored in by students and professors alike that adorned and scaled the perimeter of the halls next to signs that read "avanzamos juntos" and "growing together" (my personal, much thought about figurative translation for it).

The president was also to come into three classes in the school during his visit, each in a different wing of the building: one in the infantil wing (the pre-schoolers), one in the primer ciclo (first or second grade), and one in tercer ciclo (fifth or sixth grade), and I was to be in the second grade class, playing a game of Simon Says with the kids. Qué suerte tengo yo, ¿eh? (what luck, eh?)

The day before Barreda came, I went up to the class to explain and practice the game with them. I never imagined how difficult it would be to explain in English, much less explain it in Spanish, but I came prepared with notes on how I would do so and thankfully Zorida, the teacher, assisted my explanations very well.

Equally providential, the kids enjoyed the game -- as kids will any game I suppose -- and the following day, the "lesson" went off without a hitch... for me at least . It seemed that with all the excitement of having the president there... and the press... and their cameras and bright lights and all -- it was all too much for some of the kids who instead of following me just stared out dumbfounded at the whole production around us. It was still very cute and fun to be a part of. Check out this link to get a taste for how it went down.

After the day's very exciting and a bit over-stimulating proceedings -- including a fantastic tapas spread for the professors past and present of the cole -- I headed to Madrid to celebrate the Yom Kippur holiday with one of the congregations there, and also to enjoy some possible weekend excursioning. Thus, not only did I pass a day or two in Madrid, but I also broke the Yom Kippur fast on medieval-style treats in Alcalá de Henares during a festival honoring the birthday of Miguel de Cervantes of Don Quijote fame, and spent Saturday in Toledo with another friend from UMD before coming back yesterday to do laundry, clean my room, and return to the quotidian flow of life once more.

Speaking more or less of Cervantes, this man seems to be a bigger deal here in Spain than George Washington is in the United States, because he is adored and celebrated in every town in this country. At least, that is, in Madrid and in Castilla-La Mancha where there is a statue of the laureate, a plaza in his name, or both. And no two statues are the same. In Alcalá de Henares, his birthplace, he stands magestically on a pillar, plumed feather pen in hand; in Toledo he stands tall and lean, book under his bronzed arm, looking out at the masses that come up the steep city street; and in Ciudad Real, peculiarly enough, he is seated in a lavish chair... just chillin' it would appear. It's very funny.

Finally, a word on Toledo before I sign off. Once the capital of the Spanish empire, Toledo still commands a sort of royal splendor and continues to tempt and inspire many a traveler, both local and foreign alike to its gates. Our bus ride into town was preceded and escorted in by a substantial downpour, but thankfully by the time we left the bus at the Plaza de Zocodover the rains had subsided, and by lunchtime the sun had even begun to make its way through the clouds. I highly recommend it to anyone staying for a few days in Madrid or the surrounding area, but then again, I would also recommend that you come see me while you're around.

I leave you with some photos taken of my last week's adventures. Nos vemos!

-Nick

(the above photos from l to r: statues of Cervantes in Alcalá and in Toledo)

the tapas spread from Wednesday's luncheon

Justin engages a bakery merchant in Alcalá

the best Don Quijote impersonator I ever did see

the best Sancho Panza impersonator i ever did see (comes with free sheepskin flask!)

views from Toledo: inside an old convent turned museum and from one of the many wonderful hilltop vistas

THIS. IS. TOLEDO!!!

a little color in a town of weathered stone

from the Museo Sefardí (Museum of Judeo-Spanish History)

C.R.A. Valle de Bullaque, or, First Real Day on the Job

Greetings once again, this time from the wonderful-- and finally sunny-- provincia de Ciudad Real! I write presently from what will be my place of work for the next eight months, el Colegio Rural Agrupado  (C.R.A.) Valle de Bullaque, a small primary school of only 130ish kids and 25 professors just a forty minute's drive from Ciudad Real. For the time being, this will be the only place where I can post updates because alas, we have not yet purchased the means to proper internet access in the apartment! And as my photos all reside on an external hard drive that I did not choose to lug around with me today, this will also be a post sin fotos (photo-less), but nonetheless a sufficient one.

So then, yes. It has been a little under a week since I arrived in Ciudad Real last Wednesday afternoon, but it's been long enough to have gotten lost and then gradually more accustomed in its numerous streets whose names change constantly, to have found and signed the lease on a charming apartment close to the town square, to have met fellow teachers, future students, and easy-going roommates, and to have sampled of some of its finest local culinary offerings (including of course, being who I am, the ice cream from one of the local heladerías).

I cut my stay in Madrid short by a day in order to finalize rent on a place here, and was rewarded for that sacrifice in the form of an aforementioned well-placed apartment, a chance to come by the school and meet with teachers and become acquainted with the lay of the land, and the ability to really get a sense of the town. What's more, I can go back to Madrid rather easily on most weekends via the relatively new and state-of-the-art sistema de Trenes de Alta Velocidad España (AVE, which, as a clever aside, is also the word for "bird" in Spanish). These high-speed trains run from Madrid to Seville in a matter of only a few hours, and thus can get me to la capital in under sixty minutes.

Ciudad Real, although much smaller than Madrid and with less "cultural 'wow' factor" than other sites in the country according to Lonely Planet's 2007 guide to Spain, is still a very self-sufficient and burgeoning town where one can always find life, liberty, and the pursuit of tapas. I mean-- happiness.

The school, C.R.A. Valle de Bullaque, is very nice as well and all the professors are welcoming, friendly and blessed with a wonderfully sharp sense of humor. I'll be working most closely with the youngest students, ages 3-7, as a teacher's assistant in their Bilingual English Acquisition program. Understandably, my work with the 3-5 year olds won't be as intense as it will be with those in first and second grade, if it can even be called "intense" learning when working with this age group. Instead, Most of it is learning basic vocabularly with simple contextual cues and situations. For example, today with the second graders, we reviewed terms for weather and distinguished between them using current conditions outside, flashcards, and gestures.

This afternoon I've been invited to attend a luncheon that is being held for the teachers of many of the primary schools in the area. There will be around seventy other teachers in attendance so it will be a neat way to meet a lot of other teachers. Tommorw is the official orientation for the Language Assistants that live in the region of Castilla y La Mancha like myself, and so that will be similarly nice because although I have already met two girls from the UK who are living in Ciudad Real, I'm very excited to meet others on the program.

Well, I'm needed for the last hour's class. Nos hablamos más pronto (we'll talk soon), and I'll be sure to add photos and such dentro poco (sometime soon).

Chau, chicos!

Abrazos,

-nick