madrid recap & first day of school

Madrid - one of the most amazing places I have ever been. In the few hours I was lucky enough to spend touring the city, I was treated to fantastic views of famous monuments, roads which seem like doorways to a different time, delicious and ethnic food and drink, and the fulfilling, yet frightening, feeling that the world is full of so much more that I could ever imagine. From the lovers' locks on light posts in Plaza Mayor to the streets full of people in protest of their government; so many lives connect, cross, and interweave in this magnificent city.

 the demonstrations

 El Museo del Prado

 view of Plaza Mayor

 "lovers' locks"

 Plaza Mayor

The City :)

The highlight of my orientation weekend were the train rides and the saturday morning that I spent in Madrid with other exchange students. The other 48 hours were spent in an encampment in the mountains about an hour from Madrid, playing silly games and eating not-so-great food. On the plus-side, meeting all the Spanish exchange students made enduring the rest of the weekend bearable.

Now, for what you're here to read: The First Day of School.

My host dad drove me to school today and walked me into the counsellor's office, where we spend the good part of an hour (all of first period) discussing paperwork. When the bell rang, the secretary handed me over to another woman who then showed me to my first class, introducing me to all the students as "an exchange student who speaks very little Spanish" (at least, that's what I think she said!). After she left, I was greeted by silent smiles and a few waves from other students, then turned my eyes to the teacher. About five minutes after class started, I realized that I had no idea what my schedule was or where I was supposed to go after the class was over. Luckily, the teacher finished his introduction before class ended and suddenly I found myself surrounded by about a third of the class. They all introduced themselves and asked which school track I was on. *Really quick interjection -- for those of you who don't know how the Spanish Bacheloriato system works, here is a quick debrief. In their last two years of high school, Spanish students choose a major (Humanities, Social Studies, Mathematics, Sciences, or Arts). The students in that major stay together throughout the day - either moving from classroom to classroom or staying in the same classroom with changing teachers.* Luckily, I knew that my major was Humanities, so two of the girls said to stick with them throughout the day -- are on the same track I am. Basically, I MADE FRIENDS! :D

After my first class, which was History, my new friends and I walked up two flights of stairs to the Greek/Latin room. Greek and Latin are taught by the same teacher, and Latin should be one of my easier (ha!) classes because I have studied it for two years and everyone else is starting this year. That's not to say that it will be an easy class -- just one of the easier ones. Finally, it was time for "recreo" aka break; this basically consists of eating a snack and talking with friends for a half hour. During this time, my friends took it upon themselves to introduce me to a few people, then explained to me that everyone here is in a similar position to me -- because Spanish students change schools for the Bacheloriato, most of them don't know many people in the school yet (basically, everyone is the "new kid," it's not just me). Once break ended we moved into the library for (I think) Spanish literature. The teacher for that class seems really worried about my level of Spanish compared to the difficulty of her class, and has asked an English teacher to work with me on my Spanish a few days of the week during her  class (yay!). At 12:45 we moved back into the same classroom I had History in, and had Science (which Ana doesn't think I'm supposed to have), then Philosophy.

Once the final bell rang, I chatted with some friends for a few minutes, then went to meet Salvador at the front of the school. He then walked me over to the bus stop, talked to the bus driver about where my stop was, then waved goodbye as I stepped onto the bus. Unfortunately, as I am the only person to get off at my stop (and I didn't know where that stop was), the bus driver forgot to stop and had to circle back once he'd reached the end of the route to take me home.

All was okay, though, because I did get home. Ana had lunch waiting for me (spaghetti with cream sauce and salad), then I went and took a long and needed nap.

School is going to be difficult, but I think I can do it. I might not be able to pass all my classes (especially Philosophy and Science) but I think I can do well-ish in English and Latin, at least. Basically, I'm going to do what I can and try not to stress about it -- I am going to enjoy this year, learn Spanish, make friends, and do my best.

I hope everyone at home is doing well :) Miss you all!
Love from Marbella,
Shona