This week we were emailed by the university to let us know that the wire transfer I'd been trying to initiate for month now finally went through. The reason it took so long? Turns out the bank kept giving me the wrong fax number. When I called them for the last exasperated time, I spoke to somebody in a different department and they gave me a new number and it actually worked.
Now I'm crossing my fingers that we get a scholarship and don't have to pay the final tuition installment.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Oct. 12: Día de something
I'm really not sure why there are so many different names for the same holiday, this past Friday, October 12: in Latin America it's known as Día de la Raza, here it's called Día de la hispanidad but it's also known as the religious festival Día de Nuestra Señora Pilar. It's Columbus Day in the states. For Spain it's supposed to be a nationalist holiday, for Spain's former colonies it's supposed to be a day to assert indigenous pride and memorialize the beginning of their unfortunate conquest, and for the US, it's supposed to be a holiday to celebrate their being discovered (sounds an awful lot like a Hollywood aspiration, being discovered).
Anyways, we went out with several friends to celebrate and pretty much missed the whole VivAmerica concert-on-wheels.
I did snag this photo of the Dominican rappers, but they were the last of four floats to pass and we weren't interested in fighting the crowd up to hear Carlos Vives' crooning. We took advantage of the lights of the oncoming cleaner trucks to take pictures, including the one at the beginning of this post; as one friend pictured commented, there we have representation, from left to right, from Mexico, the US (that's me!), the Czech Republic, the Filipines, US/Spain, Colombia, Mexico and Panama. I think the most important thing we commemorated was our shared friendship, 
more than nationality or language. We wandered away from the Paseo de la Castellana and the crowds to celebrate elsewhere, eating tapas, dancing in an Irish pub, and later going out for churros con chocolate. You can thank the New World for the latter treat!
Friday, October 12, 2007
School days
Some of my impressions from my first week of teaching: I have 6 days under my belt now at a colegio bilingüe (bilingual elementary school). I work Monday through Thursday, with morning classes every day but Wednesday and 1-2 afternoon classes every day but Monday. After arriving slightly late on my first day, due to rain-related traffic delays, I make sure to give myself an hour's time for the bus commute. It's probably only a 20-minute ride from Madrid, but I have to walk to and from the bus stops on both ends.
Being a bilingual school means that every subject except Spanish and Math is taught in English. At least, theoretically. The kids I work with are for the most part 6-9 years old in 1st-3rd grade. The school encompasses a preschool and primary school, so the age range is 3-12. I see the 3-year-old class once a week and the 4-year-olds once a week; I see one 3rd year class seven times a week for English, science, and art; I see one 1st year class twice a week for English and art; one 2nd year class once a week for English; and the other (terrible) 2nd year class once a week for English. I also will be teaching English to the staff twice a week.
The bilingual program was started three years ago with the then-first-years. It has expanded one grade level each year, so the 3rd years are the oldest students in the program. Theoretically, all students at the school will take part in it at the end of two more years. There are some problems with the program's implementation (district-wide, not just at this school), which I may touch on in future posts. But on the whole, this is a really positive program with great potential for improving the second-language acquisition in this country.
There are 1,000 North American Language and Culture Assistants (from the US and Canada) in Spain for this school year, but I'm not sure what the breakdown for Madrid is. At my school there is another American, a girl from Florida who graduated last year in political science, and a boy from England who will be entering his last year of university Spanish studies after this year. He is completing the program through the British Council, and was required to either complete this program or to do a year of foreign university studies in order to graduate. On the other hand, most North Americans already have their degrees, meaning their intentions are probably different.
What were my intentions entering in the program? Well, it certainly wasn't to get elementary school teaching experience. It's not the career I studied (journalism and translation). More than anything, I was interested in working legally in order to support me and A. here while he does his MBA. The stipend is enough for us to survive but not enough for saving, travel, or tuition. Very few auxiliares are in my position as a married person providing the sole income for two. What will I get out of it? Hopefully I will learn a lot myself through this experience, and I hope my pupils will also learn a lot from me.
My school is a public school, so it has a mostly blue-collar profile with some immigrants. The building is nothing special...brick, three levels with remarkably acoustic halls as children enter or exit noisily. I was so amused by the life-sized drawing the children made to welcome us. The American girl came out looking like Super Woman, the British boy looked like a superhero of some kind, and I was drawn...as a clown. How adorable!
The English teachers and their peers have adopted us into their clique. They immediately welcomed us to the group as friends and have since treated us as colleagues, joking, commiserating and more. On our first day, we went out together for lunch at a nearby restaurant. The group includes the five main English teachers plus other young, "cool" teachers: the speech specialist and special ed teacher, two infantiles teachers, and the former gym teacher-cum-jefe de estudios.
Every day we have an hour of either planning or English lessons with the other teachers, and then an hour for lunch. The lunch is free for us auxiliares and I make sure to fill up; we also have fruit and other snacks provided for us in the morning while the kids have recess. Before congregating in the cafeteria for lunch, our group also goes to "their" bar around the corner. It's a place to blow off smoke, literally for some, but figuratively for everyone. We joke that of all the school bells, the most important one by far is the one signaling it's cañas time.
Of all the English specialists, the infants' English teacher is the most fluent and always asking me and other English assistants about the correct term for this or that. The little ones are lucky to have him. He is a prepared teacher and can carry an entire class through almost entirely in English. The little ones are so cute; always smiling, waving and hugging you. Teaching them is comprised mostly of games and songs; my favorite song so far being "Hello Everyone, Tra-la-la-la-la."
The teacher that I see most frequently is the 3rd year English teacher. She is experienced and I think we have a friendly bond. But she won't take any nonsense--from other teachers or from her pupils. She has had these kids now for the past two years, and she knows them well. She also has a good relationship with most of their parents. Importantly, she always follows through on her promises and threats. If she says you won't have recess or she's going to call your mom, she means it.
I get to work with the third year kids for English, science (natural and social sciences combined) and art class. So far, my participation has been more limited, correcting pronunciation here and observing the curriculum, but already I have been given command by the teacher for conducting certain activities or reviewing homework assignments. I can tell the kids respect and like me too. I look forward to doing more creative activities in the future. I look forward to helping their English improve leaps and bounds.
Right now, I see a lot of quizzical looks and hear the (cute) refrain, "Can you repeat please?" and more often than not we have to resort to Spanish for explaining (or scolding). I hope we don't have to use Spanish as much as the year goes by, but the teacher argues it is important that they understand the basic concepts at least in their native language. Teaching science in English when they don't even have a base knowledge in Spanish is very difficult.
I think it is important to be tough at the beginning of the year. First you establish order and discipline, and later you can relax and joke together as a class. But without order, you cannot teach and the students cannot learn. A case in point is the stark contrast with the terrible 2nd year class. The teacher isn't bad but this is her first year. The main issue is that the second-year students apparently had a teacher last year who let anything go and never punished a single student for misbehaving.
These children scream at the teacher without being called on, hit one another, don't stay in their seats, take things from others without asking, complain about having to sit next to someone they don't like, and when we actually try to work, many copy the answers from their neighbor. I am convinced the only way to remedy this chaos is with a firm hand. Their learning was totally stagnated last year and as a group they are behind not only in English, but evidently in basics like the Spanish alphabet as well. To make matters worse, there are two children diagnosed as hyperactive. One possible approach would be dividing the 20+ class into two smaller groups within the same classroom so that we can give more individualized attention to them.
Right now, it reminds me of the kids in Room 207 (from the book Miss Nelson...maybe that could teach us a solution!) The 3rd-year teacher told the 2nd-year teacher that it is worth getting control of the class by being absolutely zero-tolerance on bad behavior, even if it means losing a few weeks of teaching time. It's really a challenge to impart knowledge when there is no order. I would be so pleased just to see an orderly end of class in which materials are stacked away, chairs are pushed under desks, the children line up and leave without running or shoving. The state of things especially worrisome because at the end of the year, the second years are expected to pass an English oral exam, as administrated by Trinity College contacts.
Yesterday, I gave the class one serious talking-to, and they finally paid attention. In Spanish, I told them how disappointed I was with their behavior after coming all the way from another country far, far away. I told them how much I wanted to teach them English and how I couldn't believe they were seven-year-old children, when they were acting like wild animals.
Then I worked with them for half of recess on the exercise at hand (alphabetically ordering sets of three words, like pear, apple and bananas). The teacher took them down to the patio for the second half of recess, but they had to sit and work in their books. I reprimanded two students individually (one who had been yelling and the other who had been fighting) but they actually seemed happy to have some constructive attention. "I hope things are better on Monday," I told the class. I really hope so.
I'm happy with my job at the end of this week. I feel like I am valued by the other teachers, and I enjoy working with the children. Stay tuned for our Halloween preparation, other adventures and my philosophizing on other educational topics.
Being a bilingual school means that every subject except Spanish and Math is taught in English. At least, theoretically. The kids I work with are for the most part 6-9 years old in 1st-3rd grade. The school encompasses a preschool and primary school, so the age range is 3-12. I see the 3-year-old class once a week and the 4-year-olds once a week; I see one 3rd year class seven times a week for English, science, and art; I see one 1st year class twice a week for English and art; one 2nd year class once a week for English; and the other (terrible) 2nd year class once a week for English. I also will be teaching English to the staff twice a week.The bilingual program was started three years ago with the then-first-years. It has expanded one grade level each year, so the 3rd years are the oldest students in the program. Theoretically, all students at the school will take part in it at the end of two more years. There are some problems with the program's implementation (district-wide, not just at this school), which I may touch on in future posts. But on the whole, this is a really positive program with great potential for improving the second-language acquisition in this country.
There are 1,000 North American Language and Culture Assistants (from the US and Canada) in Spain for this school year, but I'm not sure what the breakdown for Madrid is. At my school there is another American, a girl from Florida who graduated last year in political science, and a boy from England who will be entering his last year of university Spanish studies after this year. He is completing the program through the British Council, and was required to either complete this program or to do a year of foreign university studies in order to graduate. On the other hand, most North Americans already have their degrees, meaning their intentions are probably different.
What were my intentions entering in the program? Well, it certainly wasn't to get elementary school teaching experience. It's not the career I studied (journalism and translation). More than anything, I was interested in working legally in order to support me and A. here while he does his MBA. The stipend is enough for us to survive but not enough for saving, travel, or tuition. Very few auxiliares are in my position as a married person providing the sole income for two. What will I get out of it? Hopefully I will learn a lot myself through this experience, and I hope my pupils will also learn a lot from me.
My school is a public school, so it has a mostly blue-collar profile with some immigrants. The building is nothing special...brick, three levels with remarkably acoustic halls as children enter or exit noisily. I was so amused by the life-sized drawing the children made to welcome us. The American girl came out looking like Super Woman, the British boy looked like a superhero of some kind, and I was drawn...as a clown. How adorable!
The English teachers and their peers have adopted us into their clique. They immediately welcomed us to the group as friends and have since treated us as colleagues, joking, commiserating and more. On our first day, we went out together for lunch at a nearby restaurant. The group includes the five main English teachers plus other young, "cool" teachers: the speech specialist and special ed teacher, two infantiles teachers, and the former gym teacher-cum-jefe de estudios.
Every day we have an hour of either planning or English lessons with the other teachers, and then an hour for lunch. The lunch is free for us auxiliares and I make sure to fill up; we also have fruit and other snacks provided for us in the morning while the kids have recess. Before congregating in the cafeteria for lunch, our group also goes to "their" bar around the corner. It's a place to blow off smoke, literally for some, but figuratively for everyone. We joke that of all the school bells, the most important one by far is the one signaling it's cañas time.
Of all the English specialists, the infants' English teacher is the most fluent and always asking me and other English assistants about the correct term for this or that. The little ones are lucky to have him. He is a prepared teacher and can carry an entire class through almost entirely in English. The little ones are so cute; always smiling, waving and hugging you. Teaching them is comprised mostly of games and songs; my favorite song so far being "Hello Everyone, Tra-la-la-la-la."
The teacher that I see most frequently is the 3rd year English teacher. She is experienced and I think we have a friendly bond. But she won't take any nonsense--from other teachers or from her pupils. She has had these kids now for the past two years, and she knows them well. She also has a good relationship with most of their parents. Importantly, she always follows through on her promises and threats. If she says you won't have recess or she's going to call your mom, she means it.
I get to work with the third year kids for English, science (natural and social sciences combined) and art class. So far, my participation has been more limited, correcting pronunciation here and observing the curriculum, but already I have been given command by the teacher for conducting certain activities or reviewing homework assignments. I can tell the kids respect and like me too. I look forward to doing more creative activities in the future. I look forward to helping their English improve leaps and bounds.
Right now, I see a lot of quizzical looks and hear the (cute) refrain, "Can you repeat please?" and more often than not we have to resort to Spanish for explaining (or scolding). I hope we don't have to use Spanish as much as the year goes by, but the teacher argues it is important that they understand the basic concepts at least in their native language. Teaching science in English when they don't even have a base knowledge in Spanish is very difficult.
I think it is important to be tough at the beginning of the year. First you establish order and discipline, and later you can relax and joke together as a class. But without order, you cannot teach and the students cannot learn. A case in point is the stark contrast with the terrible 2nd year class. The teacher isn't bad but this is her first year. The main issue is that the second-year students apparently had a teacher last year who let anything go and never punished a single student for misbehaving.
These children scream at the teacher without being called on, hit one another, don't stay in their seats, take things from others without asking, complain about having to sit next to someone they don't like, and when we actually try to work, many copy the answers from their neighbor. I am convinced the only way to remedy this chaos is with a firm hand. Their learning was totally stagnated last year and as a group they are behind not only in English, but evidently in basics like the Spanish alphabet as well. To make matters worse, there are two children diagnosed as hyperactive. One possible approach would be dividing the 20+ class into two smaller groups within the same classroom so that we can give more individualized attention to them.
Right now, it reminds me of the kids in Room 207 (from the book Miss Nelson...maybe that could teach us a solution!) The 3rd-year teacher told the 2nd-year teacher that it is worth getting control of the class by being absolutely zero-tolerance on bad behavior, even if it means losing a few weeks of teaching time. It's really a challenge to impart knowledge when there is no order. I would be so pleased just to see an orderly end of class in which materials are stacked away, chairs are pushed under desks, the children line up and leave without running or shoving. The state of things especially worrisome because at the end of the year, the second years are expected to pass an English oral exam, as administrated by Trinity College contacts.Yesterday, I gave the class one serious talking-to, and they finally paid attention. In Spanish, I told them how disappointed I was with their behavior after coming all the way from another country far, far away. I told them how much I wanted to teach them English and how I couldn't believe they were seven-year-old children, when they were acting like wild animals.
Then I worked with them for half of recess on the exercise at hand (alphabetically ordering sets of three words, like pear, apple and bananas). The teacher took them down to the patio for the second half of recess, but they had to sit and work in their books. I reprimanded two students individually (one who had been yelling and the other who had been fighting) but they actually seemed happy to have some constructive attention. "I hope things are better on Monday," I told the class. I really hope so.
I'm happy with my job at the end of this week. I feel like I am valued by the other teachers, and I enjoy working with the children. Stay tuned for our Halloween preparation, other adventures and my philosophizing on other educational topics.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
De marcha en Madrid
Friday night A. and I went out, leaving the house at 12 midnight. We met up with his friends/master's classmates at one of their flats near Las Ventas bullring (I still haven't seen a bull fight, though I'm fairly against them).
This was the first time I had met the bunch and I could tell right off they were a fun and smart bunch (something that can't be said for previous groups of A's colleagues). How do I know this? The first topic of discussion we launched into was film; we swapped recommendations for Estrellas de la línea, Amores Perros, Pi, María Full of Grace, Yesterday, and Lord of War, among others.
Around 3 a.m. we caught a night bus to a discoteca called La Botellita on the Paseo de la Castellana by the sculpture garden. We danced to funky '80s songs like Alaska y Dinarama's "Ni tú ni nadie" and Maná's "Clavado en un bar" (pictures forthcoming!). Most of the group we were with are Latin American, so there was no shortage of rhythm and energy. Toward the end, I started falling asleep on my feet in spite of myself, but we went strong until 6 a.m. (when the metro started up again). It was impressive to see the vast numbers of young folks stumbling into the station with us (and some promptly falling asleep once seated).
Late-night clubbing is not something I'd recommend doing nightly (pricey admission, way-too-smoky, requires time to catch up on zzzzz's, etc.), but at least trying it is an essential part of Madrid culture.
This was the first time I had met the bunch and I could tell right off they were a fun and smart bunch (something that can't be said for previous groups of A's colleagues). How do I know this? The first topic of discussion we launched into was film; we swapped recommendations for Estrellas de la línea, Amores Perros, Pi, María Full of Grace, Yesterday, and Lord of War, among others.
Around 3 a.m. we caught a night bus to a discoteca called La Botellita on the Paseo de la Castellana by the sculpture garden. We danced to funky '80s songs like Alaska y Dinarama's "Ni tú ni nadie" and Maná's "Clavado en un bar" (pictures forthcoming!). Most of the group we were with are Latin American, so there was no shortage of rhythm and energy. Toward the end, I started falling asleep on my feet in spite of myself, but we went strong until 6 a.m. (when the metro started up again). It was impressive to see the vast numbers of young folks stumbling into the station with us (and some promptly falling asleep once seated).
Late-night clubbing is not something I'd recommend doing nightly (pricey admission, way-too-smoky, requires time to catch up on zzzzz's, etc.), but at least trying it is an essential part of Madrid culture.
Friday, October 05, 2007
Wire transfer trouble
Right now I am so made at my bank I could kick the greedy, amorphous entity. I have been attempting for the past 3 weeks now to initiate a wire transfer for A's second tuition installment--which was due 3 weeks ago. Sounds simple enough: call the bank's automated toll-free phone number, free even abroad when you use Skype. Write code on a letter that also specifies routing details and amount. Fax the letter to NY land line at your nearest locutorio, costing 1.50€.
When I sent the fax the first time I had forgotten to sign it, and by the time I faxed it a second time, the special confirmation code had expired (it is only valid for 24 hours). I was aware of this because of the emails I received from the bank indicating the problems with the fax. I called back to get a new code and then sent the fax again. After sitting around for a week and not seeing the money withdrawn from my account, I wondered what was wrong.
The wire transfer department vowed they had never received the third fax. I asked them how they could expect me to know one way or the other unless they emailed me. The fax machine on this end had reported that the fax was received fine, and I verified the fax number was correct.
The kicker was that during the week lapse, the exchange rate for dollars and euros had changed enough against my favor that I would now be paying an extra one or two hundred dollars just to equal the same tuition amount, in euros.
It seems they only contact you if there is a problem, but not automatically to confirm receipt (they ought to). So then the fourth fax attempt, a week ago; it was received but they said I had transposed two digits in the confirmation code. I got a new code, copied it painstakingly and sent the fifth fax last Monday, but I had to wait until Wednesday to call and check on whether it had been received because the wire transfer department is only open 9-5 EST. They said they hadn't received it. Today I sent a sixth fax, and when I called to check on it they said it had not surfaced.
I am wasting money and time on these faxes and I am losing my sanity and even more money as the foreign exchange rate continues on a downward dive. How can these faxes not be received when the number is correct and I double-check that the fax goes through? How come their department is open only M-F, 9-5, when everyone in their customer service call center is actually located in India?
Does any one have any suggestions about alternatives to transfer money to a foreign bank account? The university is not about to pick up cash from a Western Union or other moneygram company, so that is not an option. Right now, I'm planning to do just as they tell me, in their lilting Indian call center accents: "What I can recommend is that you call and get a new confirmation code and send the fax again, and then call us back..." and then hear it wasn't received...rinse...lather...repeat...
When I sent the fax the first time I had forgotten to sign it, and by the time I faxed it a second time, the special confirmation code had expired (it is only valid for 24 hours). I was aware of this because of the emails I received from the bank indicating the problems with the fax. I called back to get a new code and then sent the fax again. After sitting around for a week and not seeing the money withdrawn from my account, I wondered what was wrong.
The wire transfer department vowed they had never received the third fax. I asked them how they could expect me to know one way or the other unless they emailed me. The fax machine on this end had reported that the fax was received fine, and I verified the fax number was correct.
The kicker was that during the week lapse, the exchange rate for dollars and euros had changed enough against my favor that I would now be paying an extra one or two hundred dollars just to equal the same tuition amount, in euros.
It seems they only contact you if there is a problem, but not automatically to confirm receipt (they ought to). So then the fourth fax attempt, a week ago; it was received but they said I had transposed two digits in the confirmation code. I got a new code, copied it painstakingly and sent the fifth fax last Monday, but I had to wait until Wednesday to call and check on whether it had been received because the wire transfer department is only open 9-5 EST. They said they hadn't received it. Today I sent a sixth fax, and when I called to check on it they said it had not surfaced.
I am wasting money and time on these faxes and I am losing my sanity and even more money as the foreign exchange rate continues on a downward dive. How can these faxes not be received when the number is correct and I double-check that the fax goes through? How come their department is open only M-F, 9-5, when everyone in their customer service call center is actually located in India?
Does any one have any suggestions about alternatives to transfer money to a foreign bank account? The university is not about to pick up cash from a Western Union or other moneygram company, so that is not an option. Right now, I'm planning to do just as they tell me, in their lilting Indian call center accents: "What I can recommend is that you call and get a new confirmation code and send the fax again, and then call us back..." and then hear it wasn't received...rinse...lather...repeat...
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Madrid's Olympic miscalculation?
Anyone else notice the uncanny resemblance between the logo chosen for Madrid's 2016 Olympic Games bid...
and that of the Eat-5-Fruits-and-Veggies-A-Day campaign that I see in Spain on spinach packaging...?
Plus, making the middle finger the brightest color certainly distracts me even more. Although it could be a good thing for Madrid to host the Olympics, that logo definitely counts as a strike against them. Even more puzzling, how come you can only buy plastic-bagged spinach here?
and that of the Eat-5-Fruits-and-Veggies-A-Day campaign that I see in Spain on spinach packaging...?
Plus, making the middle finger the brightest color certainly distracts me even more. Although it could be a good thing for Madrid to host the Olympics, that logo definitely counts as a strike against them. Even more puzzling, how come you can only buy plastic-bagged spinach here?
Monday, October 01, 2007
Animation at AniMadrid
This weekend we watched a some fun short animated films at the AniMadrid festival, which continues for the next week. The 8th annual festival is actually being held outside of Madrid proper in a suburb called Pozuelo de Alarcón. We caught the cercanía train at the nearest stop and 3 stops later (about 20 minutes) got off in the small town. The walk to the Casa de Cultura was around 20 minutes but pleasant; the path is along manicured parks and it was sunset time. We watched a free bunch of cartoons on the theme of toys, ranging from the 1930's to more modern ones. There were quite a lot of racial charicatures in the old ones, including a short called "The Old Plantation." Our favorite short was the 1972 BAFTA-wining Tchou-tchou. Very cute and very inventive Canadian story.We're planning to return later this week to watch some of the competition entries. I figure we can afford the tickets (3€).
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