Life at the ZER Conca

I'm determined to write something this evening, so rather than rambling about everything, I'm going to try to write themed posts. This theme? The schools!

My first day was such a delight. I go to Rocafort (the smallest school) and Pira (one of the larger ones) with Laura, and I'll rotate between the four schools and the three English teachers every four weeks or so. That means that when the novelty of my being there starts to wear off, I change! It'll keep things interesting for the teachers, for the kids, and for me. This means that my schedule and days off change quite a bit, but it makes life more interesting, right? :-)

Anyway, I was a surprise to all of the children. The kids would stare at me full of curiousity and fascination, and Laura made a big deal about introducing me. "Why are you all staring over that way? Ohh, there's a new person there! Who is this?" It was so much fun! The first few classes needed quite a bit of introduction about me, but after the lunch hour in Pira, EVERYONE knew about Sarah! :-) I was the conversation on everyone's lips. Haha!

I love the variety of ages. The youngest kids I work with are 4 and 5, and I just wanted to sneak them all into my luggage and take them home with me. They're so cute! We do a lot of singing with them, so I almost always have a children's song in my head now. :-) When I'm not there for various reasons, Laura said that they're always asking about me. One time they thought I went back on the plane and was traveling to school via the plane. Hee! A long commute!

The next youngest are in 1st and 2nd grade. These guys are the wigglers! I taught them to fold their hands early on, and it works like magic. I guess no one tells them to sit quietly with their hands folded because Laura asked about it and loved the idea. So whenever I'm more or less in charge of this group, I make a big deal about checking if their hands are folded, etc. They love it. We're going through toys and materials (the doll is made of plastic, the bike is made of metal, etc.) right now. And like the younger class, there's a song for everything. So fun!

The 3rd and  4th graders are the largest class in Pira (21). Rocafort also has this age group, but there are only five or so. The ones in Rocafort are very attentive and eager to please, but I think some of my biggest fans are the ones in Pira. On day 1, all of the kids wanted me to autograph something. Arms, hands, notebooks, a cast, anything! I was literally surrounded by children and arms, and the hall was filled with children begging me to sign something. All the other teachers could do was laugh. :-) They joke about me being a superstar and having a fan club all of the time. It doesn't help my humility very much, but I can't help loving the children and the attention. Two girls, Paula and Maite, drew these beautiful pictures for me, and Paula gave me another drawing today. Another girl, Elisabeth, made a bracelet for me. You can see the adoration in their faces, which is both touching and embarrassing. :-)

The oldest group, 5th and 6th grade, is the main focus. I'm with them four days a week, rather than one to three days. At first, I thought I would prefer all younger ones, but this class is one of my favorites. They know more English, so I can do and say more, and the class is just oozing with personality. The two fastest learners, Dani and Jordi, are always competing. Ian, a quiet boy who sits in the back, is finally opening up more and volunteering to talk. Marta's mother went to London before, so Marta is always trying to talk to me about London. There are 14 total in this class. The English teachers are developing a science project, so I'll be able to help out a lot with that (mostly about water). Anyway, Ian has been my secret special project because at first, he was one of the few students who seemed like he didn't care about anything. Laura noticed a big change when I explain different things and do various activities with them. I think seeing a "real" example of an English speaker is helping a lot. Now, he comes up to me like everyone else and talks about different things. Yay!

I brought several gifts with me to give everyone, and the children loved everything. They're so easy to please! :-) Everyone (minus the 3-year-olds who aren't in English class. It's so cute to watch them stare at us, open-mouthed and wide-eyed!) got a penny, which turned out to be the perfect gift. It led to discussions about currency, Abraham Lincon, our dog (named Penny), and...well, some not-so-pleasant-things. I gave pennies to the little ones today, and the boys made an immediate connection that the name "penny" sounds almost exactly like a body part in Spanish (which I will not discuss! :-P). Awkward. I quickly tried to emphasize the word "coin" or "money" to them, but I think it's too late. Fortunately, no one else mentioned this linguistic similarity!

I also had stickers for most of them, so some got some sparkly stickers with the US flag, and others got some with various US symbols (Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, flag, eagle, etc.) Talk about a great cultural conversation piece! All of the older ones know about New York thanks to King Kong, and those little stickers led to geography discussions, history lessons, etc. It was great! Many of them still come up to me with the stickers, proudly showing that they still have them. Hee! Oh, and one boy gave me a euro cent, and another girl showed me a dollar from China (where she's originially from. Actually, there's quite an ethnic diversity in these small schools, which is so neat to see! China, Ecuador, Morocco, etc.). I also gave some animal flash cards to the little ones--another big hit.

Ah, the library's closing soon, so I'll stop for now. More will come eventually!

Thanks to everyone for the emails! There's nothing more depressing than checking an empty email inbox, and reading the latest from everyone makes my day. Thanks again for the prayers, and as I hope to elaborate eventually, God is continually protecting, providing, shaping, and growing me. May He be glorified in everything!

Until next time,

Sarah