Thrilling Tuesday

Tuesdays are filled with lots of action for us at Arizmendi Ikastola. I start my day by meeting Anabel by her typical classroom that is used for some classes. But today, we started in a section of the 6th grade level original classroom. When we walked in, all students were surrounding a student whose birthday was today! They all drew on the board for her because she turned 12. Today is Valentine's day, but my teacher just states that fact but none of the students care. I am assuming that most families do not put a lot of emphasis on this day, unlike Americans. Anabel states that we are going to try to finish this section of health and nutrition by the end of the week. Today we are talking about food safety. My teacher began to give little examples such as why we should be careful when cooking and what kinds of food should we be careful with. Anabel asks the class to explain times when they had problems after eating foods or troubles they have had with cooking. For the next activity, the first group of students had to cut out three sheets of cards for the game. This group of students work slower than other sections, but they all took great care in cutting these cards perfectly. Half of the cards have pictures and half of the cards have descriptions. These descriptions range from the temperature of the fridges and how to separate certain foods. Students were then instructed to pair up all the cards and we both will walk around and check. While this task should be easy, it took them quite awhile because they are still having a hard time to read and understand all the descriptions.

Once all groups had paired the cards, Anabel have them instructions that they needed to put all the pairs into 4 different groups: Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill. Many students had no idea what chill meant; thus, I walked around giving physical actions of what chill means plus I would say frio, Spanish for cold. Lots of them kept asking for help, but it also took me quite awhile to figure out how some of these pairs fit into those categories. Once all groups made their groups, Anabel picked their names from sticks for them to read which cards are in certain categories. This tasks was difficult for some due to the pronunciation of some of the English words. When Anabel would ask for them to explain what the descriptions meant, they had a even harder time. The whole class decides that each category has 3 pairs in each. They all flipped to the next page in their textbook and they were asked to copy the descriptions into each category on the sheet. Some groups had already bunched up their pairs so this task took over 15 minutes to complete. Since the class was already done, I stayed back to grab the cards from all the groups. Anabel had to start the other section of 6th graders down the hall.

By the time I got to see the next group of 6th graders, Anabel had them in deep conversation about cooked and raw foods. What moldy foods do when you eat them. There was a diagram on the board, but it was all in Basque and I wasn't there to fully know what each side meant. When Anabel saw me, she was relieved because they were running out of things to say without those cards. I passed out the cards as Anabel explained that they too need to create pairs. These groups worked better together than the other sections; they acted more like teams and were very curious to see if they were correct. Anabel and I walked around to make sure they were all right before we told them to break these pairs into the 4 categories. Once again, this group worked quicker and asked for help when needed. I had a hard time explaining what re-heat meant due to their limited English vocabulary. Like the other class, Anabel would pull sticks for students to say what pairs went into each category. Each student copied the answers into their textbooks with time to spare in this class. In Anabel's teacher handbook, this lesson had a website to go along with it. She pulled it up to show how the students can get more information on all 4 categories and where to play games. For homework, they need to go watch the videos and games at fightbac.org. Many students were very interested in this and I hope they get to talk about it in the next class.

For the third class today, we had 5th graders. I saw this same group yesterday that played chess during class. Today though, they were going to work on the English program that is on the laptops. To begin to the class, they did the normal routine of asking what day is today and for them to talk about what they did after class yesterday. Next, they all grabbed laptops to start working. This program, Trainer, is used for most of the grades besides 1st grade. Many students are working with colors and emotions and are asked to match the picture with the English words. Other students are working on typing out numbers that are in the thousands. Some students are shown a sentence and they have to re-type that sentence below. In addition, some are reading stories and fill in blanks with the correct words or know if the title of the story matched the English story. While many were hard at work, as per usual, some students were too fixated on trying to find a good song to listen to on YouTube. As I walked around, I made sure students were on task just like Anabel. One student wasn't working until I watched and he was working on direction words such as front, on, under, and behind. I was very interested to see what types of music they all listen too and they all listen to American music in English. Many students were listening to Justin Bieber, Sia, Shakira, Ed Sheeran, and Chainsmokers. The students worked on this program the whole class period, which is normally an hour.

After lunch, I was with Unai with 4th graders for Gym class. I love my time in gym because I get to bond with students through physical activities that cross over from Chicago to Mondragon. There are lots of 4th graders that are very touchy and like to hang on me. I love the hugs, but the language is hard for communicating that I am still a teacher and not your best friend. For this experience, love will have to do. We all meet at the school and walk through Mondragon University, where I live, to get to the indoor gym. As we walked, many students were trying to ask me questions in English. Some were trying to teach me some Spanish. Once in the gym, the student go put their things away in lockers and I was with Unai and the other teacher in the center of the gym. All students were instructed to sit and they had a discussion in Basque. I tried to sit next to students that were not hanging on me so they weren't distracted from listening to Unai.

Since Carnival is next Friday, they had to practice their dance. Last week, we all learned the dance and I was partnered up with the other teacher, but this week, a student did not have a partner. While I know he wasn't in gym last week, he knew every step and was very into this dance. We stand in two lines, a boy partnered with a girl. There are 3 moves that we repeat. We hold hands in the air and walk 6 steps to the right until we are back to our starting point and then do the same but to the left. Then we walk and stare into each others eyes for 6 counts until we are back at our starting point. Then we do the square around each other with our backs at each other. Then we clap as the first two couples run down the middle of the lines and then back up. Once they are back at the front, they skip around and the lines follow. The two couples that ran create a tunnel for the rest of us to go under. We keep repeating these movements until the music is over. We practiced without music for about 5 minutes and then we were able to keep up for the whole song. My partner gave me a high-five after and said I did a great job; he is so supportive.

After that, we played sharks and minnows. Once you are tagged, you have to try to help tag everyone with the four main taggers. I will make it very clear that I am very out of shape and figured that I should just hide behind students as we ran across towards the taggers. I guess it worked because I was the final 2 players left. Since the rest of the students were tagging, we both got out right away. Lucky us, we were the new taggers plus some others. This is where I got super out of breath and tried my best to help out my taggers. Before I knew it, we had won and the game was over. Again, all the students were told to meet in the middle to make a circle. They had a longer discussion in Basque and a few students stood up while explaining to their teacher. As expected, I had no clue what was happening and just stood up when they all did. I stood in one place as other students screamed and were running to other places in the gym. Turns out that we were playing line tag where you can only walk/run on the lines of the floor of the gym. I was the first one tagged. This game was not as popular so we only played one round.

Each grade is broken up into two groups, S and T. Thus, the 4th graders were asked to get into their classes. I was pulled in both directions to be apart of S and or T. I had to tell them I wasn't playing yet. The first team building activity they did was kinda like leapfrog. One student would crouch and the next student would jump over. Once they jumped over, they had to stand with their legs open for students to crawl under. They repeated the same pattern as they went through. The student at the end would then go through the line until they all made it to the other end of the gym. This was a difficult task because some students were aggressive and some were taking their time. It took longer than I expected for both groups to make it to the other end of the gym. The students, though, were super into this game and were very competitive. The next game we played had S on one side of the gym and T on the other but diagonally. Each team was supposed to open their legs so students could crawl under each legs. The student in front runs down to the other end of the gym and back to the line of students; they crawl through, and once through, they tap on the shoulders of the student in front of them. The students touch the person in front of them once they are tapped. When the person in front is tapped, they run. Since one group needed an extra player, I was called to join. Both sides were super into this game and the pressure was rising. For awhile, my team had the lead. I was given the pressure of being the last player. When it was my turn, it was neck and neck between the teams. I was running as fast as I could and was super nervous about getting through all the legs. From afar, you could tell the students were trying so hard to make it large enough for me, but I was struggling to get through the line. I was army crawling as fast as I could. Surprisingly, my team won!

There wasn't much time left; thus, Unai got out 6 basketballs. They split the whole group into three and they were instructed to play knockout, but they called it something different, but I do not remember. I played with one group and was knocked out after 4 rounds, and I was proud of them for not being intimidated by me. They are all great sports and work hard in gym. Once again, I had a great time with all of them and I love all the love I receive from them. So far, they are one of my favorite groups to learn from.

Cannot wait for all the little kiddos tomorrow with Unai!

Until tomorrow,
Jillian

Magnificent Monday

Monday's at Arizmendi Ikastola start off with me following my main English teacher, Anabel. I normally walk up to the second level and meet her in the teacher room that has about 24 desks. I place my things down and follow her up to the next level. On the third floor, grades 5th and 6th are located. Our first class is one of the sections of 5th graders. We normally start the class by having one student come to the front of the class. Anabel asks her, "what day is today?" The student responds saying "today is Monday the 13th of February." Anabel has another student ask the main student "What did you do at the weekend?" The student answers the best to their ability, which normally has a few words in Basque and Anabel helps them translate the word. Then the student creates two times on a wooden clock. The first time the main student asks a specific student to tell the time to everyone. The second time the whole class tells what time it is. Next, the student in the front asks up to four people "what did you do at the weekend?" and they all respond to the best of their abilities. This whole routine happens in all Anabel's classes at the beginning of the hour.

The 5th graders are learning how to play chess. Last week, they had a worksheet on the names of each of the pieces and a small description of where to place these pieces on the board. In addition, as a class, they went through how each piece moves on the board. It is clear that many of the students already know how to play, but this was a great time to for these students to read English and it is something they are interested in. In class, we played chess in groups for the whole hour. I would sit next to groups and watch their concentration and strategies. I was asked to play with a few of the boys. I beat them! They were amazed that I knew how to play and could think ahead of their moves. I feel as though playing chess in class is a cultural thing because in the USA, there would never be time to teach chess and play for hours during school. I met with the other group of 5th graders before lunch and we repeated the same structure. The students in the second group had less students who knew how to play, but they all had a great time.

The second class of the day was with a group of 6th graders. They are working on health and nutrition. Last week, they were working together to create the best kind of lunch boxes. They had to make sure that their lunch box was balanced and healthy. Like the 5th grade class, we started the class with the same routine and more students wanted to express what they did over the weekend because one of the students had a birthday party. Anabel had to keep telling them to stop talking when someone else is talking. Last Friday, they were supposed to bring in the foods they had planned for their box. This group then shared with their partner what their final lunch box to each other and all their pictures were colored. As a pair they were supposed to orally state in English why their partners lunch box was healthy and or high or low in certain portions. This task did take quite a while for these students. As some students did not do the task, Anabel said she would write down their names on the board and if their name is there, they will need to work through the 30 minute break. Once four students were asked to state why or why not their partner's lunch box was healthy, she had all the students write their explanation in their textbook. This textbook also asks each student to reflect on how they feel about their lunch box and their explanations about what makes their lunch healthy or not.

After lunch, I was following the younger students' teacher Unai. We had both sections of 2nd grade today. First, they all sat by the projector to sing songs that they are preparing for Carnival next week. They sang along loudly and proud. The other 2nd grade teacher pulled up a few other songs, but just the lyrics. Once again, they sang them great. After singing, Unai and I took half the group, but stayed at the projector. Unai has a very similar routine to Anabel. A student stands in the front and is asked "what day is today?" and "what is the weather?" and "Are we missing any students today?" The student then responds to the best of their ability in English. Then Unai had lots of games to play for the day. They were all on websites that can be used for all ESL students and it was in English. The main game we played was memory and they had to match the words and pictures together. They played this game to work on colors, days of the week, body parts, and school supplies. The kids are super into this game because when a student gets a match, they all yell or "dab." The next game was a spin game that worked on animals, clothes, colors, and numbers. The group was split into thirds so they can have teams. Each teach would spin and then answer the question asked. Since they were sentence answers, Unai would read it to the kids. This game got very competitive as well.

When it was time to switch, the other teacher was loosing her voice and was not feeling well. So Unai told both classes to read and color. The other teacher needed to print out their homework and other things. As I walked around, it was very clear to me how much pride these students take in coloring and writing. They all have amazing and readable handwriting in cursive. Unai was also walking around and helping students with words in the books. I even was asked to read a word to a student, but obviously it was in Basque, so I wasn't much help. Looking in these books, the print is also in cursive. Most of the kids would come to me to ask if they could use the restroom. Even though many asked in Basque, I understood what they needed. Each class is about an hour so within 20 minutes, students got distracted and began to rough house and or talk with each other. Outside, it began to pour and we had high winds so it was a huge storm. By the end of the period, they called both classes back to the projector and they watched a new video that had more singing. And that was my typical Monday here in Arrasate!

Until tomorrow,
Jillian

Weekend Trip to Madrid!!

While navigating around, we know that we will going the wrong way 100% of the time.

Day 1:
This weekend in Madrid started on Thursday; thus, most of us had half days at school. We had to get to Bilbao before we caught our train that was scheduled at 5pm. As we all casually walked to the bus stop to get to Bilbao, Andrea saw that our bus was leaving without us. Luckily, the bus takes a turn and stops on the other side of the street. We ran and were able to make the packed bus. Once in Bilbao, we had about two hours to spare. As we walked around, we all commented that while this town in close to Mondragon, it is very different. I suggested that we eat a great meal before our 5 hour train ride. As per usual, I wanted Italian and we found a popping place. This place had a 3 course menu for 12 euro! Even though I am picky, I decided to try some new foods, but of course, I had to take out ingredients for all courses. I tried Carbonara pasta for the first time and I fell in love. Then I had chicken with some weird cheese that I was able to remove and then I finished with some chocolate ice cream with toppings. We all were thrilled with our meals and were ready for the trip. Again, we are not very timely people when together. We ended up running to the train station where they said there was a change of plans for our train ride. The train was broken and they had planned for us to take a bus to a different train that would take us to Madrid. As we waited and waited, I began to worry that we were with the incorrect crowd going to Madrid. I asked Andrea and Camila how I ask a man in Spanish if he was going to Madrid as well; unfortunately, he denied right away and I freaked out. I apparently turned red and had a very worried look. I told Andrea he said no and they all laughed at me. We're still replaying this moment on Sunday. After waiting about 30 minutes, we followed the crowd to a train. On the train, the man stated that we as a group would make it to Madrid, but there were multiple ways to get there. We ended up taking the first train for about an hour, then took a bus for an hour, and then were on the second train for about 4 hours. I was just lucky we made it to Madrid before Midnight and we were safe. For our hostel, we stayed in a airbnb that was run by two women who were incredibly nice. Even though we were super late, they stayed to give us suggestions for the weekend and what buses to take. This apartment had two rooms and a pull out couch. While it was late, there was so much to do around the city. We all slept amazingly.

Day 2:
We woke up early and we were ready to explore. Today was supposed to be the coldest we have faced here in Spain. Once we woke up, some snow was coming down, but not sticking. We all dressed up warmly and headed out for the day. Usually, we are all always hungry so we found a place for breakfast after our bus ride to the middle of town. We all got more American size meals and I was able to get some fruit into my body. As we walked around at the beginning, we found a Real Madrid store and we all searched for gifts. We then headed to plaza mayor to start our trip for the day. This plaza was incredible and was filled with all types of people. We all were like the paparazzi and were taking hundreds of pictures. Since I am not good at History, I had no recollection of any Spanish History. I began to look around and see if there was any indicators of where or what happened here in Plaza Mayor. I was able to find a women with a yellow umbrella that said Free Tours. I walked up to her to see if she spoke English and was free. Fortunately, she was and our group was ready to learn from her.

She said that the tour would last a little over 2 hours. I was super pumped that we found someone that could give us a look into the history of Madrid and show us the major spots. She was more of an interactive tour guide; she kept asking us to educated guesses on questions she had. We spent a good amount of time in the Plaza and another couple from England that joined us. She was very educated and was in school to become a tour guide. She was from Romania and was fluent in 3 languages and could speak up to 5. She said we would make our way from the plaza to the royal mansion and end by the statue that had the crest of Madrid. As we walked, the colder it got and we would stand in one place so she could explain for more than 15 minutes at a time. She showed us where the oldest restaurants sell their food for cheaper in the market. She spoke about so many rulers and different dynasties that there is no way I could explain any of it now. But, she was incredible and we had great views of major sites. Since it was freezing, Andrea convinced her that we all should warm up and grab some coffee. While in the shop, I sat close to the woman from England and she has traveled all around the world. She mentioned that she and her boyfriend want to take a trip to Texas soon and asked where they should go. After that, she even mentioned that if we ever make our way to England, we should contact her for information and where we should go. Once my toes were warmer, we made our way down the street and we ran into the crest of the Madrid. There are stars because a ruler followed the constellations to find the city of Madrid. The bear and tree represent church and state and how they should benefit from each other. While no royal king has been crowned, the crest does have a crown to represent royalty.

We then made our way to the "everest of Madrid," which is a very small hill that has an incredible view of the royal palace and the church, Catedral de la Almudena. On this hill, she discussed the new royal family in Spain and then let us try violet candies that are specific to Madrid. We all really liked the taste of them. Even though we had to keep moving, we all wanted to get a closer look of the Palace the next day. Just like me, the tour guide walked super fast and we were always in the lead. She asked me a lot of questions about Education and why we wanted to come to Basque country. I asked her about the history and her life. She took us to many other fountains and discussed different statues around the city. At the end of the tour, she said she would lead us to a place were we all can get a free drink (includes sodas and water!) and can get warm. All of us stayed and got a few snacks. Here, I got bacon that was heated up by a blowtorch right in front of me. While it had other components, the bacon was the highlight of that meal.

Now with our stomachs happy, we headed around the town even more. We went through busy streets and saw stunning architecture. We passed a large building that had a sign that said "Refuges Welcome." We kept walking and decided to make a plan to see the large park. As we walked, we saw more amazing cites and were in owe of our experience.

Once we made it to the large park, Andrea and I talked about how it reminded us of Paris' large park by the Eiffel Tower. But the more we walked, the larger this park was. Andrea kept expressing that while the park is gorgeous now, it was even more spectacular in the summer. It felt like we walked for more than 30 minutes and we were only in the middle of the park. There were places where in the summer, it would be packed and many people would be riding boats in the body of water by the statue. While it was still cold, we were able to keep moving and having a great time.

Further down in the park, there is a glass castle. Of course, we had to go in and see the beauty. As we walked up to the castle from one side, Andrea remembered from when she was 6 the most beautiful place to take pictures. In the castle, it was surprisingly warm and we were able to sit down for a little bit. After our small break, it was clear that we had walked so much and that we should find a place to see the best view, which we heard was from the 9th story of the mall that is closer to the middle of Madrid. This meant a 20 or more minute walk. But as we started our walk, we all got hungry. Camila and Andrea knew of the best churros and chocolate place in town. As we got closer, the line to get in got longer, but we had to get in. We ordered and waited about 10 minutes before we got our table. This snack was so yummy and we all loved the chocolate.
Once again, as we sat down we realized how much movement we did for the day.  We did end up making it to the mall to see the view, but it was dark outside. All of us looked for coffee and other food in the mall. It began to rain and we were ready for a real dinner. Victor, Melissa, and I were able to go to a cute little place. We all got larger meals and I finally got to eat some chicken that I have been craving for this whole trip. We all bonded and talked about what we have enjoyed on this trip. Andrea and Camila had fancy noodles and were stuffed. Once we met up, we went back to our apartment to sleep. At the end of the day, we had all walked more than 26,000 steps!

Day 3:
We woke up and it was already pouring, which was in the forecast for the whole day. We were prepared and knew what museums we wanted to go to. Again, our main task was to first get some food. Andrea found a place, but once we arrived, it was too popular of a place and was booked for the whole morning. Now it was time for me to be the star and use my phone to find places. Victor was able to pick a place that was close by as we were walking. We loved this place and stayed for more than a hour. Andrea, as per usual, was able to find a website that gave us discounted tickets for this very popular museum. Plus this night we were going to see a flamenco show!

After breakfast, we started our walk back to the Royal Palace of Madrid to get a closer look and see the inside of the church. As we made our way there, we got to see most of the beautiful city again, but now in the rain. The outside of the palace was spectacular and huge. We stood there for more than 20 minutes just staring at it and taking pictures. As we were there, clearly finding places to be inside was our main priority in this rain. Unfortunately for me, I've been wearing a pair of ked shoes that I have walked too many miles in. I walked in those shoes through Amsterdam, Germany, Switzerland, Paris and London now through Spain. My shoes soaked from the sole up and I was starting to loose feeling in my feet. I had to speak up and state that we need to find someplace inside and possibly look for new shoes as soon as possible. The Catedral de la Almudena was next to the palace and we were able to walk inside. There was a mass happening with children singing beautifully. The inside of this church was incredible and had so many places to donate. I would have stayed longer if my feet weren't bothering me.

We made our way through the main part of town to look for shoes. Shop after shop we searched and I finally found some, but now I needed socks. While I know we all did not want to spend time shopping, my feet needed some attention. After I was happy and threw away my beloved shoes, we made our way to the market we passed by the day before. It was packed inside and we all looked for the best options. Andrea and I found the mozzarella bar and it was the most amazing piece of cheese I have ever had. The others treated themselves to some ice cream, but tiny ice creams. We continued to walk towards the line of museums. We did not get far before we found a gelato place that created flowers out of their gelato for you. Of course there is time for gelato.

Once again, we continued to the museum, but we needed a full meal. As we walked down a dead street, we found a very local place that had a good crowd inside. We all got amazing dishes and had a great meal together with laughter. As the day seemed to pass by us, we had to use our tickets for the museum. We walked up and there was a line that went on for a block, but luckily we already had our tickets and we walked inside. We all said we would meet up around 6:30pm, about 2 hours, to see if we are fully satisfied with our trip. I walked and walked and studied the art, but it was clear that my legs had had enough of walking. I kept sitting down to look at the art work and it got harder for me to start walking again. I needed some caffeine as well. We walked through probably 10 or 12 rooms full of art and we needed that break.

We sat there for over an hour and decided that it was a long day and we saw tons of pieces. We met up with Victor and started to think about dinner. Victor wanted tacos and had other plans besides the Flamenco show so he left. The rest of us made our way closer to the show. We found a little pizza place and we stuffed our faces. Finally, we made it to the show and we were sat in the second row. I was super excited and had no idea what I was going to see but the woman in a beautiful dress. The show had live singers and incredible guitar players that moved their fingers super fast. They show had a boy and girl dancer and they could move their feet super fast as well. They would stomp and snap their fingers throughout the dance. They had serious facial expressions and the songs were about displeasure with the monarchy. I had an amazing experience and highly suggest anyone to go see this type of show. After the show, it was time to get some sleep before our early train at 8am.

Day 4:
We all woke up super early and were not ready for travel. It was pouring again and we got two ubers to the train station. With plenty of time, we waited for our platform. Once we got that, 3 of us were in one car and the others in the car behind us. For most of the train ride I slept and or read my book. In the row in front of me had a cute newborn baby that was laughing with her mother. The train ride flew by and we had to take a bus from Zumarraga back to Mondragon.

This weekend was amazing and I saw so much. I am so incredibly blessed to be able to experience all of this and do it with some good friends. Cannot wait for next weekend when we travel to Barcelona!

Until next time,
Jillian

Language Barriers & "Fame"

This week has been another reminder to me how much I wish I would have taken my language classes more seriously when I was younger.  Moreover, I wish I had the determination to sit down and practice a new language. While I thought it would be easier to remember and pick up Spanish during this trip, it has been very difficult for me to even try to translate or repeat words. I see this challenge as a daily reminder that while I want to get to know my students, there is a barrier that is keeping us from bonding in a way I would be able to with my students in Texas. I feel as though I am no help and I desperately want to be helpful. I am reminded with the saying that once you are older, it is harder to learn new languages. Hopefully, someday, I could attempt to carry out this challenge.

With all this being said, I wouldn't change a minute of this experience so far.  I have learned so much from observing and the few small conversations I have been able to have with teachers in English. I can tell that teachers have more patience for students who have more energy and cannot sit at their desks. Teachers and students have a bond that is hard to describe: very loving and trusting. Students are encouraged to balance the mind, body, and spirit by relaxing themselves before they start every class through meditation. In addition, the students are very touchy with each other. They are seen "rough housing" during most breaks. Once again, the amount of patience these teachers have is incredible and I hope to bring back this mindset when I go back to Texas.

With close to two weeks in the school over, it amazes me that these students are capable of knowing how to read and speak words in three languages: Basque, Spanish, and English. I love that both the English teachers I follow bring music and or stories to help the students practice their English in front of others. We have found that many adults here in Mondragon are too nervous or shy to even attempt to speak it with us, Americans. I love how interactive English lessons can be through repeating phrases in stories with emotions. Moreover, they all work on a web program called Trainer that has activities in which students need to match vocabulary words to pictures and or re-type phrases or words once they disappear from the screen. Some students are able to listen to words and then pick the correct word from a list and some students find vocabulary in cross-word puzzles. I am also very impressed that these students are very interested in my life, America, and my schooling. Even though we might have a few pauses in which we do not know what each other is saying, we come to an understanding that I am very much like them. I hope to continue to learn from these two spectacular English teachers and maybe even be able to show them how we teach vocabulary and how to use the English language.

On the other hand, we have had very exciting opportunities these past couple of weeks. There is no hiding that us 5 are from America because we first, don't speak basque, but we also speak too loud. Wherever we go, people are staring. Last week, we got an email from one of our contacts, Tane. She said we had sparked some interest in this community and they will write an article for their "valley" newspaper and have an interview for the local telly. Since the newspaper article was published, many teachers at my school have tried to express how excited and shocked they were to see me in the newspaper. We even feel as though some locals are staring at us longer and might have connected that we were the ones from the paper.

One teacher was able to give me my own copy before we went to Goiena, the local news, newspaper and radio headquarters. We headed over to Goiena, February 8th, to get a tour of the headquarters and to get interviewed for our segment on Friday. All of us were super excited yet nervous for this experience. We all dressed up more and us girls looked more like girls today! They were incredibly nice, but only a few could have full conversations with us in English. They showed us the layout they send to reporters to write their stories and showed all of their products, which includes magazines. Turns out that over 20,000 people receive the free newspaper that had our article! One woman was taping us talking with the workers and then later interviewed us in groups. Melissa and I were grouped together because we only speak English. Victor, Andrea, and Camila were together so they could answer in Spanish, which will be easier to translate. They only asked 3 questions, but when the camera is on, you feel the pressure and feel as though it was taking forever. After the interviews, they explained that they will play what we said and then have a translator speak and or have captions at the bottom of the screen. All of us were given 2 copies of the newspaper and we had plenty of time for picture opportunities. Overall, it was an unforgettable experience and now we can say that we are stars!

Here is the online article for all to view: http://goiena.eus/debagoiena/1486114474627 Note this article is in Basque, but you should be able to translate it through your web browser to English.
I will post the link to our interview on camera when it is created!

Cannot wait for Madrid this weekend,
Jillian

San Sebastián Weekend Trip!

This weekend was full of great food, sites, and tons of rain! Definitely want to come back here!

Day 1:

We left early on Friday morning to take a bus to San Sebastián! I was able to pack everything I needed in my backpack for initially a two day trip. The bus ride was only an hour and we got there for under 2 euros! We started walking around and knew that we could finally get a large meal that will fill us up. We all decided Italian sounded incredible and found a cute little place. As we walked towards our hostel, we already realized that we had walked over 8,000 steps! Andrea was able to find an awesome hostel in the town that had bunk beds for all 5 of us with our own bathroom. This bed was amazing and each bunk had their own little light and charger. We all were super excited about sleeping some place new and some place that was super warm. Since we were so impressed with this hostel and San Sebastián, we all decided to stay until Sunday. However, this meant that we all had to buy another shirt, which wasn't hard because this town had everything.

After we got settled into our hostel, we began to walk around this beautiful city that is full of life. As we were walking, we saw hundreds of people walking down the hill singing and banging small pans. These little kids were so adorable and dressed in costumes like gypsies. There was music playing and the kids were hitting the pans along with the beat. It was incredible to see how much they treasure these moments before carnival. We watched until they turned away from us and we all had smiles from ear to ear!

Next, we walked closer to the beach, which is famous and packed in the summers. The view in every direction was breathtaking and a few of us dipped our feet in the Atlantic ocean. There were many messages in the sand created by artists. Andrea and I had our eyes on walking up to the large statue of Christ, plus we heard about their famous aquarium. Even though we already felt that we had walked a lot, we decided to make the climb up to Monte Urgull. You can see the statue in this picture.

Now, this hike took about 20 minutes to the top. We stopped every few minutes to catch our breath and complain that we didn't have any water, which is clearly very American of us. We kept encouraging each other to keep going because in the end, we will be very fit and will see amazing views. On this hike, there were many ways to get up to the top and we even passed a cemetery. The road was made of stones and at times, it was hard to find a path that was not as hard to walk on. At each level, we all would take hundreds of photos and even selfies (embarrassing I know). Every step of the way, I could not believe that we are so lucky to be in Spain and experience all of this. The statue of Christ was incredible up close and we were able to explore the castle that it is upon. We spent about an hour exploring and taking different routes to different views. I took way too many pictures to post them all here.

On our way down back to the town, we were able to go to the aquarium! The beginning of this museum had many wooden ships and lots of history about the travels they had. A few of us found a little reading hole for little kids where we were able to take a break from standing and walking. Too bad we couldn't understand them because they were in Basque. The last floor was the aquarium and it was so much fun!! They had so many different kinds of fish and a large shark tank. We were in the museum until closing. I would definitely go back there if given the chance. This was a lot of walking and we were ready for some food! On our way into town, we did find a souvenir shop so I can buy postcards for my students back in the Fort Worth!

We walked through the streets and there were so many people out. Like in Mondragon, there are specific times to eat and we were ready to eat right in the middle of the main time. Since every place was packed, we craved some churros. In Spain, you eat churros with chocolate and now my life is changed forever. While being here in Spain, I have wanted to work on my Spanish; thus, Andrea told me how to order for our group and it worked, for the most of the conversation. After this little meal, we definitely needed a real meal. Since I am picky, Victor and I ended up at a different place than the rest. Together, we bonded over our families and talked about other places we want to travel to. Moreover, we could tell that our legs were going to be sore in the morning. Once we met up after dinner, we ventured back to our beautiful hostel and slept amazing.


Day 2:
We woke up to walk to our new hostel for this night to place our bags before our bus to France at 10:40am. Unfortunately, we got to our new hostel, but the hours were later in the day. So we walked right back to our first hostel and were able to store our bags for the day. Victor checked his Fitbit and we already made half of his daily goals in steps. We made it to the bus station with time to get breakfast and make bets on which number our bus would be located at. This ride was only an hour as well and cost 7 euros.


Since I am always asleep in cars or buses, my group had to wake me up so we could begin our adventure in Biarritz, France. Just like Mondragon, this town was small and had beautiful apartments. It was slightly raining so it seemed like no one was ready to be outside. We walked around and found the ocean view. We walked up the hill to see even better views and see the famous Castle that overlooks the Atlantic ocean. We all were just taking in all the sites and how beautiful it was to be in France for close to two hours.  As we walked around, we found a purse shop that sells a very handy bag, longchamps. Melissa and I decided it was a great investment and had an extra bag to travel with for the weekends. There was a beautiful church in town were we all were able to walk in and say a few prayers.


Truly excited about our purchase, it was now time for some crepes from France! Andrea found a local place that was highly recommended. This place had both sweet and savory options. Since we were starving, we all got savory ones and boy were they incredibly tasty. As we sat down, we realized that this town did not have much nor museums. Since we had already walked around most of the place, we thought we would check for our bus back to San Sebastián. To our surprise, the bus we wanted to take was full and the only time left was after 9pm. For us to be able to stay in our new hostel, we needed to be back before 7pm to check in. We all frantically searched for buses and trains and nothing for awhile. Since we needed to find a plan, clearly we all needed a sweet crepe as well. I had a delicious nutella crepe. Luckily, Melissa found a way for us to take two buses, walk a bit, and then take a train back before 6pm.

With time to spare, we all walked around and found some treats. These macaroons were truly amazing and we all decided to try new flavors. With our little bags full, we walked into different book stores. In addition, Camila needed a bag that wasn't a rolly; thus, we kept walking to find a store that had the best options. We found a place that had tons of pencil cases and we were thrilled. Can't you tell that we're education majors? This store had such cute bags and other things that I was able to get gifts for a few family members.

With our pockets empty with money, we decided to head to the bus earlier to make sure we made all the connections to get back. We were able to find the first bus to the airport pretty easily and we made it to the next bus stop with too much time to spare. As we waited, the more worried we got that we did not have the right information to get back in time. We walked to different stops by the airport to make sure we could find the 816 bus. As we ran, we knew that staying in one place would be best. Over 30 minutes later, our bus finally came. Once we were at the train station, we couldn't figure out how to buy our tickets and or what train we needed. We tracked down the right purchasing area and got our ticket. A couple behind us asked if we were from America and we said YES very loudly. They were from Indiana and were planning on traveling all over the world. They followed us as we missed our very first train back to San Sebastián. Finally, we were on the right train and us girls made jokes that Victor, the only guy, was over all of us so he sat by himself farther away.

We ran off the train and through the streets to get to our first hostel to grab our bags. Since we were on such a time crunch, we had a plan to use the restroom and grab our bags and run across town. With five of us, it was hard to make timing work so four of us ran ahead to make sure we could met the deadline of 7pm. At 6:45, we made it to the hostel and the guys were super confused why we weren't there sooner. We had two rooms. One had three single beds and the other had a single bed and a double bed. Lucky me, I had the double bed!

It was such a long day and we decided to walk about town to find some dinner. Like the day before, San Sebastián was getting ready to celebrate carnival. Most people were dressed in their costumes and were congregating in the square. We followed them and found a large group dancing and singing on a stage. People in the crowd were singing along and banging pots with mallets. We swayed to their music and singing with smiles on our faces. Once again, it is awesome to see them all partake in their cultural activities. After four songs, we decided to get some food so we can sleep soon. Us girls found a place that had tons of yummy pintxos. With room in our stomachs, we needed some treats. Ice cream was the way to go. However, it did take a long time to find a place and it was exactly what we needed after our travels.

We made our way back to our hostel, and it was clear that the crowds were getting larger to celebrate carnival. I really wish I was able to buy a pan and mallet they were all playing and singing with. I was just in owe of all of the aspects in this town at night. We all were exhausted and got ready for bed. All of the sudden, all around our hostel, we could hear loud singing and music. I got a call from Andrea and told us to get to their room right then. All of us were on the balcony were we can see that down a street there was about 300 people ready for their march. They began and came right to the door of our hostel. They sang and sang and pointed at us. We smiled and cheered along with them. It was truly an incredible experience. They were then on the move again down the streets singing and banging the pans. We all went back to our beds, but were up until 1 or 2am due to all the singing and parading through the streets. Words cannot describe how awesome it was to witness this and be apart of this night.

Day 3:
We all woke up ready for another exciting day in San Sebastián. However, as we were leaving for breakfast, it was clear that we were in store for some rain. Spain takes Sunday's very seriously; thus, most places are closed. But, there were places open, luckily for us. When we left, we ran back to the hostel to check out. We stored our bags and were ready to explore in the rain. After 15 minutes, it was pouring and we all wanted to go back to Mondragon. We found the earlier bus and returned back to our hostel. As we made our way back to the train station, we ran into an art fair. I told everyone that I wanted to bring back artwork for my apartment and to always remember where I have been. I ended up buying three pieces! I am incredibly excited to frame them.

With an hour to spare, we all sat in the bus station and ate while watching some Seville futbol. It was great to have another meal before we headed back. We cannot wait to spend the next two weekends traveling as well. Now we are back in Mondragon and ready for another week at schools! Hopefully we can learn more Basque and their educational practices.


Until next post,
Jillian

Let's Start Teaching!

I've learned a lot in the past couple of days from locals and oh my this place amazing!

On Tuesday, January 31st, we met with Tane, our savior, and we rode a bus to the other Mondragon Unibersitatea in Huhezi, Spain. She showed us around the university and as we learned that all locals need a cup of coffee close to every hour, we sat down at the cafe to prepare for our talk. All of us were able to receive a bus card as well.

We then walked into a university classroom that was small, but had amazing views. We went around the room and told Tane what we wanted to learn from our placements at schools. The main aspects we came up with were to see how they deal with behavior management, how do they integrate both Spanish, Basque, and even English, and how do they educate both typically developing children and Special needs children.

Tane and another colleague from Ireland gave a small presentation on the Basque country history and why they want to preserve the Basque language. We learned that they teach Model D: Basque-medium teaching with Spanish teaching with certain subjects (immersion program). They expect these students to be trilingual, so some students learn in Basque, Spanish, and English. There are private and state schools and there is only ONE mandatory test that students take when they are ready for university at 18. All classes are inclusion and there is a Special needs class called the Butterfly room that we hope we can visit later in our trip!

There are many cycles within each stage of education. In pre-primary Education, the 1st cycle has students between 0-3 year olds and the 2nd cycle has students between 3-6 year olds. Next, in primary education, 1st cycle has students between 6-8 year olds, 2nd cycle has students between 8-10 year olds, and 3rd cycle has students between 10-12 year olds. Secondary has 4 levels with students between 12-16 years old. Students are only allowed to be pulled back a year once in their education and with these cycles, students are able to interact with their whole cycle to learn from each other.

All five of us are at four different schools. Everyone has to travel by bus to their schools, while my school is across the street here in Mondragon. Together, we were able to visit all the schools after a great lunch in the sun. We met another native to Mondragon and she drove half of us to the schools. Victor will be teaching with the Science teacher to 16 year olds. His school is on a small hill and the school was very open. We watched them run outside and they all ran up a hill to play.  Next, we went to Melissa's school. This school is located in a gorgeous small town that has very colorful apartments and parks. Another student from Mondragon unibersitatea has been at this school as well. We talked with a few students and they kept guessing we were from England. After we told them we were from the United States, one student began to sing "Surfin' USA" and that was her only connection to us.

By this time, it was a very long day. Andrea and Camila went to their school with Tane. Victor, Melissa and I were able to learn words in Basque as we drove back towards the town. Amaya was so incredibly nice and reminded us to say that Mondragon is not Spain, but it is Basque Country. She stopped at different locations to show us places we can go for lunches, or where to find the local bank, and showed us where to catch buses for the bigger stores. She even drove us up a mountain to show us some of the best views around here and great dinner spots. I have been blown away with the natural beauty of this place.


Here are some easy phrases in Basque:
Hello- Kaixo (x makes a sh sound)
Good morning- egun on
I am Jillian- ni Jillian nice
tree- zuhaitz (shwitza)
Goodbye- agur


Today, February 1st, I was able to meet my tutor (teacher) Anabel. She does not know much English, but she is the best speaker in this school. Since she only teaches the older students in the morning, I will be following the English teacher in the afternoon when he teaches the 6 and 7 year olds. I was able to meet all the teachers but most of our exchanges were smiles and head nods as they spoke in Basque around me. I started today after lunch, which is at 2:35pm. I had older kids for the first hour and younger children for the second hour. Most of the students just gawked and stared at me. They called me Yellen and asked if I had a baby. The younger students were working on a play for their parents later today. They were speaking in English, which is pretty new for them. It was the story of the bad wolf who ate a sheep's kids. They all did a great job, but clearly they had thick accents. Cannot wait for more experiences!

Until next time,
Jillian