Feliz Navidad!

Christmas carols! Spanish style! Enjoy turrones and keep hopeful of the gordo!

Off to Budapest, Vienna, and Berlin to celebrate the holidays!

All Eyes on You America

It never quite hit me until recently that the US is really a superpower of the world. Brits, Aussies, Spaniards, Frenchies, etc all expressed deep concern over the fate of America during the course of the U.S. presidential elections. Like people who had a direct, invested lot in this affair, they'd ask me if I had voted, in more a tone that said, "You better have voted as the world's affairs lay in the count of your ballot". These foreigners would ask where they could watch the presidential debates and were updated on Romney and Obama's stances. Conversely, if you were to ask me about Spanish politics or any other countries government, I could vaguely tell you if they were a Communist country or not. Very sadly, I would obviously be no smarter than a third grader on these matters.

Naturally, Romney, for Europeans, is not even a competition to the beloved Obama. It's hard for them, (err, us) to even recognize Mitt Romney as a worthy opponent when he has little foreign policy knowledge (one of my teachers remarking that he probably doesn't even know where Spain is) let alone the finesse to manage delicate relations with other national leaders, favors capitalistic mollycoddling of the rich at the expense of social service programs for the middle and poor class, regressive commitment to negating the Affordable Health Care Act which we finallllllyyyy achieved, antiquated ideas that do not recognize human rights in the sphere of women, immigrants, and homosexuals, topped with a despicable smear campaign rested on falsities. So you can imagine all the "Congratulations, your country just barely missed running off a cliff and into the craphole of a mess." when we found out that Pres. Obama will take his rightful seat at the White House again for another 4 years. In one class, I had a teacher that joyously referred to the victory again and again throughout my lesson plan. As I taught the word "powerful" to my 11 year old students, she would add "like Obama!", at which the whole classroom would start to applause. And even if I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of being a walking liberal propaganda tool for such malleable, young minds, I have to say, I was very proud  we did not disappoint all of the world! Yay America!!

 A chart from the perspective of a global participation in American elections. 
http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2012/10/23/163473712/if-the-world-picked-u-s-president-obama-would-win-by-a-landslide

The best laid schemes of mice and men

My aunt from NY is visiting me which means I get to use this as my excuse to do all the touristy things. We went to the Prado Museum, the Sofia Reina Museum, Retiro Park, Plaza Mayor, and we had planned on going to Granada exceeepppptt.....after MY WALLET WAS STOLEN on my way home after having been paid in cash for my academy work teaching English (almost 200 Euros), it was a little difficult to book/reserve anything online.Naturally I cried and hated Spain for the next week. The offense feels so personal, thinking about how a month's worth of work (although not much) was taken from me in a chance moment. My mood wasn't bettered when the next day I accidentally locked myself out of the house and then after a party, lost my public transportation card. Awesome. But I can't complain. Because who cares about a card and some cash when my woes are drowned out by the distress of the whole NYC that's been flooded out.

So instead of Granada and taking full advantage of this 4 day weekend, my aunt and I just took some day trips to Toledo and Segovia. Toledo used to be the capital of Spain and is famous for their multifaith culture where Islam, Christianity and Judaism all used to peacefully coexist. It has a whole bunch of medieval architecture.

All you need to know about Segovia is suckling pig. Delicious. Well aside from watching little oven-baked Babe being chopped into dinner parts, you should also know that Segovia is home to the Alcazar, rumored to be the inspiration for the Walt Disney's Cinderalla Castle, and a Roman aqueduct that welcomes you into the town center. Also, I felt like freaking Sherlock Holmes when I realized that the word "Alcazar" comes from the Arabic word "Al quasr" and that they both sound a lot like the English word "castle". This fascinated me for the entire day.

Huelga

POLITICAL SCIENCE LESSON!
When its not the teacher's strike, its the student's strike, when its not the student's strike, its the parent's strike. And so goes it. At least for all the other schools. My kids have to be so darn motivated and responsible enough to have planned their demonstration for the afternoon so that they can still go to class while protesting the 20% budget cuts to education. The current party in power, PP (the Popular Party, which acts as the conservative voice here in opposition against the other major political faction, the Social Party) is being heavily assailed. The budget cut will mean that teachers work more for less pay and 25% tuition hikes for university students. (They would probably pass out if Spanish students ever got to see the tuition bills that we Americans rack up). Other auxiliaries have had all their classes canceled. In my case, at least more than half the class always ends up showing up so class proceeds. As such, in my segundo social science classes, I got to sit down and listen to all the kids talk to me about the Spanish government which is all very interesting (with the needed sensationalist flavor of scandals to make it material worth learning about).

HISTORY LESSON!
Spain is a constitutional monarchy after having been a republic, and then oppressed under Franco's dictatorship. And while Franco set up a king in order to succeed him in his fascist rule, the king actually decided to institute democracy instead. Thankful, the people of Spain have always admired the royal family and let them take half the government's money even though the family doesn't really do anything, because I guess transitioning the country from dictatorship to democracy without bloodshed is a pretty big deal. However, now the prodigal descendants of the king are tarnishing the family's reputation and actually lighting the ire of many who would like to see the whole monarchical system completely done away with. Extortion and an elephant hunting trip in the safari by the king, who also happened to sit on the board of WWF with whispered rumors of mistresses are all a fun part of the titillating story.

Tips to Remember

-Do not wait until you have eaten every, single item possible in your fridge because when it is Sunday and all the mercados are closed, you will starve.

-Do not trust the Ministry of Education. They will lie and/or be confused and in turn make you lie and/or be confused.

-Do not dwell too much on what exactly fuet is. It is delicious it is delicious itisdelciciousitisdelicious.

-Hang em tight! Use 4-8 clothespins or your clothes WILL fly away and land awkwardly at the window of your neighbor

-Jazz is cool for 1 hour, after which you begin to start tesselating your tapas for entertainment

-Be prepared to see old and young alike with full lips and tongue engaged IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET or casually, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE METRO. Also, couples will almost always massage each other's butts while publicly unveiling their inner porn star.



I have been trying to get ready for grad school so I've been in my room. So, there's my update.

Goodness

Today, I saw two people pause from their lives and make conversations with random homeless people on separate occasions.

"Que tal" she said jovially as she handed him an apple.

In the second incidence, a man stooped down so as to sit face to face with another fellow man on the street corner.

People looked on, then hurried on.
Can't say I didn't try to ignore.

I'm a teacher...ish!

So I don't know how I managed to get so lucky but not only have I been placed in Madrid but I have also been placed near the Madrid center at one of the best institutos here, el Instituto Ramiro de Maeztu. And though it does not exactly embody the manicured,  Harvard-esque image that an American would think of when hearing about a school with such a lauded history, the students, in comparison to those I've heard about from other auxiliaries, are indeed bright. As it stands now, I teach primero, segundo and a couple of bachillero groups in English, natural science, physical education, social science, and Citizenship. The American equivalence of these groups would be 6th-7th graders and high school juniors. They are way more cooperative and sincere than I expected. I think I had originally painted them as cynical, miscreanitos but I guess it was actually just me being cynical. The kids just all seem like they need some lovin, or at least to know that someone cares. Its crazy how receptive they are to a simple smile or a personal gesture. Its not as though the teachers are awful or mal-intentioned, they just are either indifferent (mechanically doing their job), or do not know how to constructively respond to students who may be perceived as"rambunctious", but are, in my opinion, simply just more curious and excited. Either way, my duties are to assist the teacher and the degree of my participation naturally varies for each class and for each teacher. Mostly, I encourage discussions and serve as a cultural ambassador for American culture (which gets confusing just because there is a slight dissonance with the American culture for me as a Korean-American, amongst other reasons).

All in all, the job is easy and I am enjoying it! The only thing is that I do feel guilty for having it so easy while 25% of native Spaniards can't find a job in their own homeland. :/

Hunger Games

I have been here since Sept 24. Exactly one week of which was spent in tortuous apartment hunting and sharing a common space with 10 other strangers. Profile of a typical hostel: 30% timid talkers by day, thunderous snorers by night, 40% drunk and/or high Aussies+Germans, 10% Asian FOBs, 10% old, creepy men, and 10% people that you actually make lasting friendships with. And theennn that one girl who smashes her teeth in after doing a back flip in the cobblestone streets and has to be taken to the hospital 5 in the morning. Good thing I’m lame and I hate socializing so that I didn’t go out that night!

Apartment hunting, if it can be likened to fishing at all, goes like this. The renters are the maniacal lords of power who dangle their apartments as bait amidst the thousands of us who desperately need to get out of a hostel. But in such a populated pond, us little fishies have to shank away all the other fishies who want the same apartment. At first, we fishies casually swim up to the bait, thinking its ours for the taking when after a week of confusion, we are told that another cooler fish has bit and has won it all. After the repeated process, all of which is spent in hunger, since, oh you know, I AM POOR AND I DON’T HAVE A PLACE TO SLEEP OR EAT/COOK AND IVE BEEN TRAVELING ALL OVER SPAIN, you start getting desperate. Once-decent standards are reduced to compromised living situations, such as living with a fat, furry cat. Not that that would be a problem if I weren't deathly allergic.

BUT ALAS, good fortune, though tardy, did show up and last minute, I snatched an apartment right in the middle of Embajadores. Close to the Retiro Park, the 3 museums, and basically anything else that is important. My room is small but just enough. Also, my roommates, though not Spanish, are very pleasant. I even get reminder stickers on every door from the landlady on how to close doors (ohhhh i’m supposed to do it quietly) and notes by the sink as well as by the shower and etc. But it really, it is an adorable flat that looks like it was decorated by a 6 year old girl- aka couldn’t have asked for more! But really, that last minute decision to see this place was life-changing. It took me out from the miry clay (that would be the hostal), and set my feet on solid ground.

Aint it cute?...Its in its natural state, messy.

The Intro

In Susie fashion, I have been kind of frantic, having been much too harried by the introductory blows of an overwhelming city to properly sit down and start a travel blog. This is until I had the realization (or rather, the reminder which I am only too soon to forget) that I will probably never cease to be so scatter-brained and that it would actually do me some good to anchor my drifting thoughts unto some words and thus give my experience a more defined, shape.

First thing first. I need to learn more Spanish. I guess all that ego-boosting hanging out with monolinguals distorted my view of my oh-so-tremendous linguistic capabilities. I am now surrounded by other wanderlusters who thrive on absorbing cultures and adventures and different languages. Needless to say, a lot of people in the auxiliary program are quite adequate in talking the Madrid talk. It’s simultaneously intimidating and motivating.
In addition to achieving a greater fluency, I just want to enjoy everything. Simple goals. Maybe even achievable.