Spanish Children Are The Devil

Yesterday on my way home from the CLM, I called my guitar teacher Antonio and set up to meet him at 1:30, then I went home and ate something before going over to say hello. He was so happy to see me and got to guitar buissness right away. I had told him that I would like to take classes, but didn´t think I could bring my guitar with me. So he took matters into his own hands and bought me a guitar and case for me to use in my house while I´m here!!! I was shocked, I thought he might have an old crappy one I could use, but buy a new one??? Its not for me to keep, and I´ll pay him the 50 € for it and then he´ll buy it back from me when I leave. He also said its like a 300€ guitar, and he got a really good deal for it. I told him I couldn´t pay him for the guitar or classes yet, but he made me take it anyway so I could start practicing and getting ready. He also invited me to be a part of this guitar/chorus he´s directing. He must not remember how I really play the guitar.... All in all it was nice to see him again. People are way too nice to me....

Then I came home, ate lunch with my 2 roommies Rosa and Zore. They are really nice. Rosa is wild and crazy, but super sweet. Zore is more resreved and we have more in common, but they are both just sweeties. After lunch, I helped Rosa fix her computer (my first time ever to know more about computers that somebody else), and showed them some or my pictures. We were talking and Rosa painted my nails and we just talked the whole afternoon till I had to get ready to go to Nacho´s graduation. They helped me pick out what to wear and what jewelry too. They are girly girls, which is good for me because I´m not really... So then I got ready to go and went with Emilio and Pepa to the graduation.

The graduation was fun, because I knew a bunch of people there. Victor went to the same school where Nacho got the Masters from, so I saw a lot of people I hadn´t seen or talked to in 2 years. The ceremony was pretty long and borring, but interesting at the same time. Afterwards, they had a ton of delicious appetizers and tapas and drinks and tons of food. We were there till about 12, then I came home, sleepy and tried to prepare my lesson for the next day, which I hadn´t done when I planned earlier that afternoon when girl time happened. So I did my best and went to bed.

Got up early for work, got there and had an hour of class with a teacher, Socorroc, who really doesn´t know very much English at all so I used all my Kindergarten phonics skills and it went really well. They they had a coffee break teachers meeting, and I had class again with 3 more teachers, Javi, Rafa and Jose Antonio, I´m not sure about the last one. It was great, they were so excited to learn, patient, it was a lot of fun. Then I went to teacher´s hell. 2º de la ESO, this is the equivilant of 8th grade more or less, but the kids seem sooooo young. They were talking, throwing pens, drawing on the tables, singing, chewing gum, everything except listening, learning, paying attention or doing what they were supposed to. I worked for a year in Kindergarten and those kids behaved better than these. I was shocked and sat in the back of the class as the teacher tried her best to teach, yelling over them with a microphone. Yes a microphone, a real one she has, partly because she is kinda loosing her smokers voice, but otherwise.... it would be impossible... I´m still in shock about the whole thing. Then at the last 10-15 minutes she has me come up front and introduce myself and open it up for the kids to ask me questions. I waited for it to get quiet, and said, "Hello, my name is Rachel Gardner, I´m from Cali...·=%(Y $T=·(/· 4" and the rest of the 10 minutes was lost in the raging clamor of the terrible Spanish youth. There was nothing the teacher could do, nothing I could do. I tried, I busted out my best, "Hey when I´m talking its silent.." It didn´t matter, as soon as I stopped saying something, they started talking again. I grabbed students arms, walked around, nothing. They just don´t care... I couldn´t belive it and I have no idea what is going to happen when I¨m alone with them. Such a shock coming from the Army regimen teaching of my father... All of you who are teachers have no idea what this was like. You should come here to see, and I think you will appreciate your jobs so much the more. I walked the almost hour home in shock, and I´m still in shock. I can´t wait to see what tomorrow is like...

At home the 3 of us made lunch again, and sat on the balcony and talked for a long time. I think things with them are going to be really good. Adri, our other roommate is always busy and working, and things with him are going to be good too, but he´s just never tehre. Then I came out to internet and phone home since I´ll go to work tomorrow and then to Malaga and the beach for the 4 day weekend. I love and miss you all and hope all is well.