Well, this is the first week (May 2nd-6th) back from Easter holidays. It was kind of hard to get back in the swing of things, but I did it. Hard to believe I have such a short time left working for the school year, and that it was almost a year ago that I graduated from college. Yikes.
My break was full of visitors and fun, like it should be, right? The week before our vacation time (which was actually Holy Week), our school had cultural week. From Monday through Wednesday we did different Mallorcan cultural activities. I talked to the director of our school and was told to just choose a class to participate with. I chose a first grade class (they’re so much fun!) and was with Kiko helping his class make crespells (a typical Easter cookie), painted shirts, and learning about Easter.
On Monday we made crespells with the class. We actually discussed ingredients with them (in Catalan, so I didn’t really participate in the discussion, ha), followed the recipe, and measured out exactly what we needed for our baking extravaganza. I thought it was really neat that we made these in class instead of just talking about it; it made a really good hands-on activity for the kids, even though it was a little messy. One thing that I still can’t get over is alcohol on school grounds. A second grade teacher, Ana, walked into our class in an apron (her kids were making cookies too) carrying an open fresh bottle of anis. I just stared at her. She was talking to Kiko about adding some to the cookie dough. Um…what?! I understand that the actual liquor bakes out, but still! I asked Kiko for clarification about what she was going to do and he said that, yes, as soon as we mixed up the dough she was going to come back and add some anis. For flavor. Oh, I see, well that’s fine then. I just kept thinking to myself how this would NEVER fly in a classroom in the US. The teacher would probably get arrested. Or something, I’m not even really sure. You can’t even drink during lunch in the US. At any rate, the cookies turned out really well, and the kids were super excited about baking.
Tuesday, everyone brought white t-shirts and we stencil-painted bees on them since Kiko’s class theme this year is beekeepers. Again, the kids had a blast-how could you not, when you’re getting down and dirty with paint? I got a little painted myself, thankfully, not on my clothes, but it was still sliiiightly embarrassing to have another teacher tell me I had yellow pain on my nose. Wah waaahhh. That afternoon, all the first grade classes watched Bee Movie. I’d never seen this movie, and didn’t really follow along as it was in Spanish and the kids were being loud. It looked pretty cute though, and the kids that were listening seemed to enjoy it. Even though I wasn’t really ‘working’ per se this week, I always went home extremely tired from the days’ activities.
On Wednesday we went on a field trip to La Fiore glass factory with the first graders. There were four chaperones, including myself, and I would say maybe 80 kids. To a glass factory. I assumed this would failed miserably, and the school would have to write a check for thousands of euros to the glass shop, but nothing was broken! Granted, we watched the process of glass blowing and the students weren’t allowed in the actual store, but still. On the ride to the field trip, the kids started singing songs on the bus. As I was listening, the lyrics of ‘quien ha hecho pis en un saco de dormir’ became apparent. This literally means, ‘who took a piss in a sleeping bag’. Oh, ok, so this is what we’re playing. They’re six years old remember. Though I was taken aback by the lyrics, I couldn’t help but chant the tune as well, it was rather catchy. After getting back from La Fiore, the students had recess for about 2 hours while all the teachers talked outside. It was a beautiful day and I got to talk to some of the teachers that I don’t normally see, which was nice. After school got out at two, a few of the male teachers and I went to get tapas at a restaurant near by. Most restaurants serve you a tapa (small plate of something) if you purchase a beverage, so the five of us got drinks that were accompanied by a plate of food that we all shared. We were pretty hungry and ended up getting about 5 plates/aka 5 beers and needless to say, by the end of the meal, I was glad that I wasn’t driving. I really appreciated that Jordi, one of the first grade teachers, invited me along with them. It was nice to chat and get to know the guys outside of our school setting.
On Thursday (Maundy Thursday) we started our Easter vacations, and I was ready for a break. Thursday night Amanda, Beckie, and I went to La Rambla in Palma to watch the big night of processions. They were quite interesting, not as intense as Sevilla (can’t say I’m sad about that), but still kind of gave me the creeps. I understand that this is a huge religious affair, but it still kind of reminds me of the Klan, especially when people here tell me that it’s like that with a big smile on their faces. I’m not sure they understand that yes, the robes are certainly similar, but the actions are opposite. Usually I just nod and smile; I don’t want to get into the discussion of what the KKK actually did.
On Friday Mike, Telene, and the girls flew in to Palma. I picked them up at the airport that afternoon for a week of Spring fun. They were absolutely exhausted, but were awesome sports about going to watch a procession and get tapas that night for dinner. I think the girls made it to about 8:15 before they started nodding off at the table; I was surprised they made it that long to be honest. I don’t think they were big fans of tapas but Mike and Telene seemed to enjoy them.
The next day, we started bright and early (around 10:30 ha) and walked around the city. Throughout the week, we hiked up to the castle, went to the Cathedral, enjoyed a lot of Spanish food (including ensaïmada and sobrasada), and, of course, sangria. Before we knew it, it was time to head to Barcelona. I took a separate flight and arrived a couple hours early into the sunny, warm Barcelona weather. This is the third time I’ve been to Barcelona and every time I love going. It’s such a huge city that’s full of awesome architecture and great food. I sat outside a café for a while and had fresh squeezed orange juice and a croissant while I people watched. My favorite.
When Mike and Telene arrived we checked into the hotel and walked around the city to find some lunch. There’s a good tapas restaurant on La Rambla, one of the main streets in Barcelona, and we stopped there to have a typical Spanish lunch. We only had three days in Barcelona but I think we spent our time wisely and walked a TON. Something that I hadn’t experienced before was the city after a big football (soccer) win-Barcelona played its biggest rival, Real Madrid, for the semi-final of the Champions League and won 2-0. Barcelona absolutely erupted. We didn’t venture too far into the crowded plaza, but were able to walk up La Rambla and see how many people were in Plaça Catalunya—I would say probably between 700 and 1000, screaming how Barcelona was the best.
The morning we left, we all got up around 4:30. I had to catch a flight back to Palma and they had to get to Madrid. My trip to the airport was a little rocky, as the car that Mike and Telene had hired (and paid for already) didn’t show up on time. Instead I took a cab to BCN and boarded a flight that left at 6:20 at 6:05. Cutting it a little close. Thankfully, I made it on, and home safely. A huge thanks again to Mike, Telene, Brecca, and Brinley for taking the time and money to come all the way over to Spain. It really meant a lot to me that you guys spent your Spring Break with me and it was definitely nice to see family!
