High School Again

I started journaling today on the metro about my new favorite time of day, so I figured why not continue right here what I was writing earlier.  So apparently, my new favorite time of day is on the metro to and fro my new job teaching these young girls English.  Earlier, I thought I’d say my favorite time of day would have been the lovely bike ride to and fro my new Spanish school every morning/afternoon.  But after braving the wild streets of Valencia, with pedestrians galore to swerve around, other bike riders to with which to keep up pace, and keeping watch of the many cars that decide to plow through intersections regardless of their informative signal, “YIELD FOR THE HUNDREDS OF BICYCLISTS AND PEDESTRIANS YOU MAY RUN INTO”; I’d say the ride is not quite as tranquil and thought provoking as I would have hoped for.

Regardless, my new favorite time seems to be that time on the metro every afternoon heading as far as possible on the line.  Don’t have to think about anything but the Lord’s words to my soul until the train finally stops and everyone is gone off the train except for me and the Lord.  He and I are uncovering some good stuff during this simply sweet 30 minutes twice a day.  For now, it’s between me, the Lord, and my husband (as I choose to divulge).  But if I’m brave enough or divinely instructed to, I will share more on that.

All that said, so far this week has been a lot different that my last 3 weeks here.  I started classes at the Spanish school on Monday.  I am in the beginner class (guess my 2 years of high school Spanish didn’t lead too much), with a bunch of beginner German college students.  For one, I am absolutely amazed by how fast they have picked up on the language in such short a time.  They all started from ground zero a week before me.  My vocabulary seems to be bigger considering my “extensive” previous experience with Spanish education.  However, in a full immersion class setting, it’s clear who is comprehending the teacher’s instructions and who is left staring blankly hoping someone else can inform them on what the instructions are.  Of course all “black market” instructions are whispered in English (to me) in a thick German accent.

Of course when the students are actually speaking in Spanish, as we are supposed to, sometimes I’m not sure if my struggle is more trying to comprehend the Spanish, or trying to understand the THEIR Spanish masked by a thick German accent.  Seriously, sometimes when they’re joking around I’m not sure if I’m listening to German or Spanish!  We’ll see where I stand in December when I’ve finished my investment to this school.  After 3 days, it feels more like I’m in high school wondering if I’ll ever be able to apply this.  But I figure every little bit helps, and one day I anticipate a sudden light bulb turning on in my head.

But on the flip side, I am teaching English to a family who seems to put me on a pedestal for my English, and are glad to be around me and my “precious” accent.  I’m working with two girls (10 & 7).  The first time I met with them, I was expecting to have to do some “get-to-know-you” time and warm them up to me.  Let me tell you, they picked me up from the metro station, and from the backseat of the car the girls beamed with joy and precious greetings.  They are sweet as can be, not shy at all, and excited for me to come over every day.  It feels pretty good after my awkward mornings struggling through Spanish class with the quick-learning Germans!  Ok, the Germans are actually super nice and gracious to me…it’s just my own timidity shining through.

It’s good that I’ve been rather busy this week and ongoing (except that I’ve been uncomfortably sick with a head cold… and now chest congestion… but that’s life.) because Jake is now feeling the weight of his program.  He’s very proactive at keeping up with his assignments, but in his field you can always be refining, editing, redoing, or recreating your work.  He has experienced all of the above this week.  Luckily, my husband is a fast-working perfectionist.  So whatever he does (or re-does) is a quality piece with time left over for edits.  For one class (it’s called “Linear Scoring for Film” or something fancy like that), he is putting together a 1:30 min piece to an imaginary scene, that will be recorded on Friday with professional musicians.  Each student will conduct their own piece and has 20 minutes on the sound stage to record with the musicians.   Just working with professional musicians is a huge treat for Jake that he is excited about.  Some of the students have little to no conducting experience.  Jake saw the fright in one kid’s eyes when the assignment was given.  So he pulled him aside and offered to help.  Today Jake brought his “teacher” hat out, and worked with this kid for 40 minutes on his (the kids’) piece.  I only say “kid” because many of these “kids” are fresh out of undergrad and sometimes it’s hard not to see them as “kids”. 

Jake is kind to people here.  Sometimes I don’t know how he maintains his patience.  You would think he’s used it all up on me!  But no, he keeps it coming.  He has been known as the “go-to-guy” for tech stuff because he helped a few people set up their computers with additional memory, faster hard drives, and other techy stuff that I’ll just feel stupid if I try to expand any further…).  And apparently, he’s been nominated by the students to be some sort of student-faculty representative…!?  Not sure what all that is about, but he may be like the “student-body-representative” to make all the student requests known to the faculty.  I dunno!  We’ll see!  Maybe I’m not the only one who feels like they’re back in high school.  ;)

So things are getting busy, but they are good.  I’m still blessed to have some amazingly sweet and fabulous friends here.  MariEli and I auditioned for some new praise choir at the church.  Monday night was the first rehearsal/audition.  They are going to have us actually try-out next Monday and sing alone!  Too bad I literally have lost my voice now because of my sickness.  L  Seems like whenever I get a head cold it eventually goes to my chest (that’s when it’s almost over), and takes out my voice in the process.  It’s been happening every year or two since high school.  The last time was last December, and my voice did not fully return until February.  I still remember last February’s rejoicing because I could sing again!  So we’ll see what next Monday brings for me.  As of now, I have a little more than a whisper.

Either way, Monday was so fun, and made me feel soooo much better in spirit, regardless of how I felt physically.  Andres ran the rehearsal, and of course everything was in Spanish. But these church members are the kindest people ever, and I never feel like an outcast regardless of the language barrier.  MariEli and I walked part-way home together, and it feels so wonderful to have another friend who I enjoy so much!

Bonnie, MariEli and I will be going out for drinks tomorrow.  Bonnie is so busy being a mom, a wife, and working all the time.  But even so, she texts me asking about my new schedule, she invites me to do something with them at least once or twice a week, and she is constantly encouraging me.  I hope that I can return her the favor as I know she could probably use the extra support as well.

 All in all, feeling blessed.  Feeling grateful.  Anticipating new revelations as this journey unfolds.