Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! Thank you so much to those who have sent Christmas cards, notes, emails, or packages in the past few weeks. They always mean a lot to me, but this time of the year, it means even more. And being in a different country and experiencing my first-ever Christmas away from home and family made everything even MORE special!
I went from almost being caught up on my life via Blog World to being really behind. :-) So I’m just going to start writing and see where it gets me! Oh, and thanks to Big Sis Amanda for the previous update!
Christmastime was when I feared that I’d be the most homesick. Many auxiliares go home for the holidays, but I just didn’t see the point in spending the money for TWO extra plane tickets, dealing with jet lag all over again, and spending a few days with my family and my work-consumed, retail-manager sister rather than use the time off to experience Spanish/Catalan holiday traditions and travel.
For the schools, the other English teachers and I had our “Christmas meeting” on Dec. 1st to organize and plan everything. Cristina, the substitute teacher for Olga, wasn’t there because she wasn’t feeling well, and to be honest, the meeting felt so much more light-hearted. :-P Cristina’s nice, but we’ve just never been able to talk together very much. When she found out that we wouldn’t be working together because Olga would be back by then, I think she just kind of didn’t see the point in getting to know me well. Anyway, Laura, Andreu, Elisabeth (the one with the injured hand), and I exchanged ideas on Christmas songs, crafts, movie clips, and activities we could do with the kids. I think it was the most fun I had at our weekly meetings! Laura and I had a pretty good list of possible Christmas songs from the previous week, so we just needed to narrow down the possibilities. Elisabeth had a Christmas book for her son that she brought with her, and we ended up picking a song from there called “When Santa got Stuck Up the Chimney” for the 1st and 2nd graders. For the 3rd and 4th graders, we chose “Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas” (my suggestion! Yay!), and Andreu found a song called “I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day” that would work well for the 5th and 6th graders (for them, the song has to be a bit more trendy and upbeat to make them interested and happy :-)). And finally, we changed the lyrics of “Oh Christmas Tree” for the little ones. Elisabeth thought of the line “Star and bells, and presents, too” and I was suddenly able to use my weird and generally pointless-but-clever skill of making up lyrics to different songs within seconds. I blurted out a “And ornaments of green and blue!” and we had lyrics that could work for Catalan 4 and 5-year-olds. :-) Andreu originally wanted the whole song to be:
“Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! How lovely are your branches.
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! How lovely are your branches.
Oh Christmas Treeee, Oh Christmas Treee,
Oh Christmas Treee. Oh Christmas Tree.
Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree! How lovely are your branches.”
:-P Haha! We had so much fun, and it was especially good to see Andreu and Laura getting along better. Andreu’s lyrics and antics had all of us in tears of laughter, and there was such a spirit of unity among us. This was going to be so much fun!
We picked various crafts and activities that more or less corresponded with the songs, and we had a little over a week to focus on Christmas activities in the schools. The songs were our main focus since they’d be sung in front of all the parents at each of the schools on Dec. 22nd. I was a little concerned about being the “English expert” and not knowing two out of four of the songs, but they were really easy to learn. And they’re so fun! :-)
We also had to make up motions and dance moves for all of the songs. Each school would have their own party, so the motions could be a bit different with each teacher, but we tried to keep things similar. And I just love singing songs with the kids. There’s something about combining my interest in language, kids, and music that just makes me feel in my element.
The movements are hard to describe in a written format, but I do have video clips of all of the songs. Posting them is another issue, but maybe someday! :-) But each song turned out so well, using ideas from Andreu, the kids, and me. My absolute favorite was the 5th and 6th graders in Solivella. There are quite a few artistic people in that group, and the performance was fantastic. The best part? There’s a fun saxophone solo in the middle of the song, and Ricard, a sweet, quieter boy who had an operation on his legs and would be in a wheelchair for a few weeks, was chosen to be the “saxophone player”. The kids closest to him wheeled him towards the center, and he pretended to play the solo. It was such a sweet way to make him feel special and not awkward about being in a wheelchair. On a side note, it was touching to see his classmates care for and watch out for him. They didn’t baby him, but there was always a student or two who made sure to help him if he needed it.
The Santa/Chimney song for the 1st and 2nd graders was a big hit...both for the students and the other teachers! :-) The Christmas Tree song for the little ones was OKAY, but remember, we had the wiggly and distracted Solivella kids. :-) It was cute, but a lot of work! Then there were the little ones in Rocafort. Marc would sometimes sing and other times be a terror, and Sanae and Xènia did well, but their little voices only carry so far. :-) The two cutie 3-year-olds of Rocafort joined us for that song. Ali and Ilhem. Of all the 3-year-olds in all of the schools, I know those two the best now. Ilhem is ALWAYS giggly and happy, and Ali is such a little people-pleaser. They both are on my mental list of “kids I want to sneak into my luggage and take home with me”. :-)
Every year, apparently, a special music teacher comes to one of the schools and leads the children’s songs. This year, he (Dani) was in Barberá. Since Cristina/Olga teach in Barberá and Solivella, Olga would be with the kids in Solivella for the Christmas program (oh! Yes, Olga came back from England LOT of fun!). Laura, then, had Pira.
And the schools were so beautifully decorated for Christmas! The arts and crafts teacher worked really hard with the kids, and their hard work paid off. So many cute and fun decorations throughout the buildings! I especially liked the ones that were unique to Catalunya. Specifically, the tiò. What’s a tiò? I shall explain...:-)
First, it isn’t a tío, which is “uncle” or “dude” depending on the context. Put the accent on a different letter, and you have tiò: something very specific to Catalunya. According to the dictionary, it’s translated as “a log for burning” or, for Christmas, “a log that yields presents when beaten by children”. Say whaaaat? Yes, that’s correct! :-) Just picture a log that’s carved/made to look like either an animal or else just a happy log with wooden legs. Each tiò is different. Some look like pigs, others look like dogs, and most just look like...well, happy logs with wooden legs. Each tiò has a blanket over it (like where you might put a saddle on a horse), and the tiò “eats” different food during December. Orange rinds are the most common, but I’ve seen pear peelings, other fruit, etc. Generally, the food sits there in front of the tiò until a parent, adult, or teacher sneaks it away without the children seeing. And for the kids, wow! The tiò ate the food! :-) Then on Christmas Day, adults put the presents under the blanket when the children aren’t around. When you gather the kids together, each kid has a stick, and everyone lightly hits the tiò while singing/chanting a rhyme in Catalan. After one final “Carga TIO!” the blanket is removed to reveal all of the goodies left by the tiò. :-) Now, growing up in a family that never celebrated Santa Claus or the Easter Bunney, I have issues with deceiving kids for the fun of it. However, I have to say that the whole concept is really cute. :-) The older ones know better, but they still enjoy it. And the little ones get SO excited about everything! So anyway, each school had a tiò, and many of the handmade decorations had pictures of the logs as well.
Andreu and I were in Solivella for the “trial run” of the Christmas program, and all of the songs and poems (English, Catalan, and Spanish) were so fun. And during the 5th and 6th graders’ song in English when Ricard played his “solo”? By the 21st, he was able to walk (but with braces on his legs), so he sat in the wheelchair for all of the song, suddenly stood up, walked to the center, and fake-played his little heart out. Perfect! If the reaction in the rehearsal was anything like the real deal, it was a huge success. :-)
And on the bright side of being in Rocafort, we were able to work with the 3rd and 4th graders (some of students who are under Laura...Rafa, Vero, etc.) and their Holly Jolly song. Andreu and I made up a few more motions for the song, and the students knew the lyrics perfectly.
Finally, the 22nd came. The big day! The kids in Rocafort started out the day by making beautiful Christmas crafts, and the teachers just kind of wandered around, chatting and helping the kids when needed. Javi also came by for a little bit in the morning and then later for the actual program (knowing him, he drove around and went to all four schools that day!). And I’m not exactly sure where he got it, but Javi kept carrying around a yellow rubber/squishy bean-filled chicken with him that whole week. Being the tolerant person I am, I patiently stood there as he stuffed the goofy chicken in my face. :-) He did it to several other people that week, but few tolerated it. :-D Haha! Anyway, Javi and his chicken eventually left for a few hours, and the other teachers and Rocafort kids walked through the small village of Rocafort to deliver letters the children had written to the 3 Kings (wisemen), specifying what they wanted for the day of the Reyes (Jan. 5th/6th). It was fun walking around with the kids and seeing where they lived (they dropped off the letters to their homes, trying to do it without their parents seeing). We had such a delightful time, singing the songs that the kids would be singing in front of the parents, making up songs about Javi and his chicken (seriously! Pepe Pollo is the name of the chicken. :-P), talking about what traditions we have in the USA
We also had snacks back in the school (chocolate and a pastry with powdered sugar), and I gave the kids some stickers that Mom and Amanda had sent in a package. They were so excited! The scratch-and-sniff stickers were especially a big hit. :-)
And then the parent slowly started to trickle in. The children did so well in their songs and poems (even restless little Marc!), and I did my best to take videos of everything while helping lead the English songs at the same time. Ha! It was after the singing when I saw my first tiò being hit. :-) The children went to another room to chant the song to the tiò, and Nùria and Anna (two Rocafort teachers) quickly put the gifts under the tiò’s blanket. The oldest ones did it first, lightly hitting the log while singing, and then removing the blanket to get the goodies. The excitement of the event definitely increased as the ages decreased! The younger the kids, the more shrill and joyful the squeals were. And the cook in Rocafort got something from the tiò as well. :-) Afterwards, the parents headed home, and a few of the children stayed to eat lunch. Andreu and I hung around for awhile, practicing a song we’d have to sing for the dinner that evening (ha! Sooo much more on that later!), and I also talked to the kids who were still around. Somehow, I ended up telling them that I knew a little Catalan, and ever since that day, Vero makes me say sentences to her in Catalan. :-P Actually, she’s just like the other teachers in that regard; I think it amuses everyone. Anyway, I was able to impress everyone by declaring that I’m wearing a red sweater, asking what they did Saturday night, etc. Haha! And after many hugs and holiday wishes, Andreu and I headed out to go to the teachers’ Christmas dinner in l’Espluga de Francolí. But that’s another post!
Let’s see...did I cover everything I wanted to for the schools? I think so. Just on a side note, the 22nd concluded another “term” for me. When classes start up again on Jan. 7th, I’ll be in Barberà (the only school I haven’t been to yet!) and the 3rd and 4th graders in Solivella with Olga. However, because the “break” was a lot more natural this time, I didn’t tell the kids that I’d be switching yet again. :-) I’ll be with them again in March though! It’s just uncertain if it will be with Andreu or Elisabeth. Poor Elisabeth’s hand has turned into a very complicated, long process of healing. Regardless, I had a great time in Solivella and Rocafort, and I’m looking forward to new adventures soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment