School!

Since I've been attending my Spanish school for about a month now, I thought it was time to make the typical school post. There's a lot of things I could say about mi cole, so I'll just start with my schedule.

Now, descriptions:

Educa- This is just P.E. It's basically the same intensity as American schools, but the things they do are a little different. It's hard to place. But the other day our teacher had to spend ten minutes teaching the class how to start running like you were running a race. Simple track knowledge, but they don't really have track here, so maybe they wouldn't know. The teacher is nice, I guess, and he likes to practice his English on me. He always forgets the names of the digits (index, middle, ring, etc) and asks me a lot. It's a nice break from trying to decipher Spanish all day. 

Informática- Computer class. Except we're not learning about computer programs, we're learning about the computers themselves, like coding and the internet pathways and such. Most of the terms are abbreviated and extra-difficult in Spanish and this class just flies over my head. The teacher doesn't take much interest in me either so I just copy my friends work and play on my phone. 

Biología- Biology. I took this class last year, as a freshman, so I already know most of what is being taught. He talks slow-ish, we read and do work out of the book a lot, and a lot of the scientific terms are fundamentally the same, so I actually understand most of this class. The teacher is nice to me, and he's letting me write the exam however I can. Sometimes I study Spanish when I finish before the other students (I skip the ones I can't make any sense out of) and he laughs when I make frustrated hand gestures. So although this class has a good chunk of work that comes along with it, I enjoy being there.

MAE- Study hall. Sometimes we're inside, sometimes we're outside. It's a different teacher each class and really all we do is sit around and talk and go on our phones. It's an okay class. 

FyQ (Física y Química)- Physics and Chemistry. I don't like this class. The teacher is not very kind, doesn't care about me, and talks a mile a minute. And then there's the actual subjects of physics and chemistry. It's hard in English, and with the change into Spanish I understand nothing. At this point, I think I may just have to take it when I get back to the States. Honestly, I would kind of prefer that so I can learn it better. There is a positive though. That is the fact that I haven't actually had an FyQ class for three weeks. We had our teacher for the first week, and then she just stopped coming, so now when we "have" this class we just sit in the room and do whatever. Right now, another free period. 

Inglés- English! Obviously one of my favorites. Sometimes, when applicable, the teacher has me translate the sentences into Spanish and she's helped me a little with my Spanish grammar. She has me talk to the class about the subject they're learning about from an American perspective, and I like public speaking, so it's my favorite part of the period. I help the students with whatever they need, pronunciation, grammar, etc and it's just an overall good class.

Mates- Math. I like this class a lot because I like math in general. There are a lot of changes in the way they write things, so that took some getting used to, but overall the content is easy, and I like being able to be good at one of the subjects. The only bummer is that I haven't had a math class in three weeks. Our math teacher left at about the same as our FyQ teacher. I think our FyQ teacher just plain left, and our math teacher is sick (???). I'm not sure, she's been gone for three weeks, you'd think she'd be over it by now. She's also our tutoría teacher so she can't just leave. During this time we do the same thing as FyQ, which is nothing. Maybe she'll be back soon, maybe she won't. Who knows.

Lengua- Spanish language and literature. At the beginning, the teacher ignored me and she spoke superrrr fast so I kind of just dozed through the class (hearing rapid Spanish like that makes me drowsy). But since last week she seemed to finally notice my presence and now she makes me follow along and talks slower. Every night she makes me do free writes on a different topic and then she corrects them. The class isn't that bad actually, when I concentrate. I give it a neutral rating.

Ampli- This is my second math class. The teacher actually comes for this one. He's really funny and nice to me. The math is do-able (once I get a break down of the Spanish from my friend) and easy to follow. He just gave us a 30 problem packet which I think I'll talk to him about, because I'm not grasping everything yet. We'll see how that goes. I only have this class twice a week, but I like it a lot.

Sociales- History. No me gusta esta clase. I'm not a big history person as it as, and this class does not help. We take notes but they're hard to decipher and the teacher talks a lot, quickly. Until my language skills get better I think I'm going to concentrate on my other classes and not worry about this one. 

Tutoría- Another study hall. It is supposed to be advised by our math teacher, but since she isn't here its even less of a study hall. We only have it Wednesdays so that's good. Last Wednesday my friend and I realized that we didn't have any classes after third hour, so we... just.... left. Not exactly allowed hahaha. 

Ética- Ethics class. This class is pretty cool. The teacher speaks a little English so he'll include me in the lesson when he can. Almost every class there's a debate and I'm sure they'd be interesting if I knew what was being said. I only have this on Fridays, so it's a definitely something to look forward to in the week. 

Recreo- This is our break. In America, it would be lunch. A majority of the people eat and a lot have full sized sandwiches and things, which makes me wonder why they wouldn't just have lunch and then not have another meal three hours later....? Sometimes I get bored when no one is talking to me, but I meet new people and do get to talk to people, so recreo is nice.

I think that my English teacher is going to set me up with a tutor so during MAE, tutoría, educa, FyQ, mates (while the teachers aren't here), ética, and inglés, I'm going to meet with him/her and study Spanish instead. I'm actually pretty stoked for this because I'm tired of sucking at Spanish. (I'm not kidding. Some AFS friends came over for dinner the other night and had full on conversations with my host mom that I didn't understand at all.)

School was a big change for me. For one, in America I only have six classes, three a day. Now I have twelve classes, with six or seven a day. Here, teachers switch classes, not the students. And we call them by their first names (even though everyone just says "Profe"). That means that the rooms don't belong to the teachers, so they don't decorate them. The walls are white and bare. Actually, basically the entire school is like that. There are a few decorations but not much. Nothing like my high school in California. My classroom doesn't even have a clock. This results in a lot of looking outside for me. But I do get to set up my desk for the day, so that's nice. The only classes I leave for are educa and informática. There are many differences within the classroom too, like: They use chalkboards. I have never before used a chalkboard in school. When I told them about the whiteboards, they were like "realllly?" and then I told them about smartboards and they were like, "whoaaaaa". 

Another thing is that there is no air conditioning in the school. It is so hot. All the time. The sight of a dozen paper fans waving is completely normal to me now. We have blackout shades in the schools, and some of my classmates close them, thinking the dark will make it cooler, when what they should be doing is opening them so the breeze can come in. To add to this, we're not allowed to wear shorts. I'm not talking about just short shorts, I'm talking about any shorts above the knee. Everyone wears pants. Suprisingly, not many girls wear leggings. My wardrobe is composed of shorts and leggings, so this has been especially difficult for me (though I'm definitely not giving up leggings to "fit in". I'll just start an American trend). I won't mind as much once it gets cold but it's still in the 80s and 90s here. No bueno. If my Spanish administrators went to Cal they would have a heart attack hahahah.

Anyways, back to the classroom. The teaching style here has a lot less variety than in the States. In my California school we might have worksheets, projects, videos, drawing and coloring, group work, powerpoints, and more. Here we have lectures and notes, and the very occasional video or project. It makes learning harder for everyone, Spanish students and exchange students alike. Unlike what I was expecting, we do get a decent amount of homework here. The teachers just don't take it, we correct it together. The amount of homework we get is smaller, but the students study every night too. Of their own accord. The only thing I studied for last year was finals (like a lot of the other students in my school) and I passed just fine. I told the class that most Americans don't study as much as them and they all had the most shocked looks on their faces. One guy said, "and you fail, right?!?", and I said, "noooo....". So, yeah, I don't think studying is a habit that I'll be picking up very easily. 

Also, sometimes teachers don't show up. They don't tell anyone, they just don't come to class. When that happens we sit around and wait for our next class. Usually about halfway through the period a teacher notices that we're being loud and not being supervised and they send a random teacher to be in the classroom with us. Currently, on Wednesdays, my class doesn't have any classes after 3rd hour, but they won't let us leave, because we aren't in Bachillerato yet. So we just hang out in the class for three hours. 

(the view out the window)

Within the school itself, there are also several differences. We're not allowed to have phones. I know that some schools in America are the same, but in my Californian school district we're allowed to have phones all day except for class time. This has taken some getting used to. In reality, we still use them, but they're hidden. 

During recreo, kids smoke. Primero y Segundo de Bachillerato are allowed to leave campus during lunch recreo, but everyone else can't. So the older kids (my grade) and a few of the younger ones stand in the back of the school yard in a huddle and smoke. It suprises me that they don't get caught because it's really obvious. Speaking of smoking, I think I've gotten used to smelling it all the time. I can't imagine what it's going to be like stepping into New York again and breathing in the "fresh" air. 

If you're wondering why I called my grade the older kids, it's because here, instituto has 7th -12th graders all in the same school. It's pretty weird walking around and seeing an 11 year old and an 18 year old in the same vision. I'm not a huge fan of this because walking through the little kid's hallway is a-nnoy-ing. They are tiny, and rowdy, and everywhere. Plus the hallways are already narrow to begin with.

The bathrooms here are also quite different than what I'm used to, and it took me a good two weeks to get the hang of it. In my school this is how you go to the bathroom: You go to the front office and request a key for the solo available bathroom in the entire school. They give it to you, attached to some sort of tool, like a wrench, or a door handle. You then have to take your specific amount of toilet paper from the main (and only) roll in the office, in front of everyone. If that wasn't very clear, I mean that there is no toilet paper in the bathroom, you have to take it and carry it from the front office. The actual bathrooms are okay, I'm not really going to comment on that. 

One last difference that I can think of. There are no school sports. No Thursday polo matches or Friday night football games. Nada. Really, there aren't any extra-curricular activities here, clubs, dances, anything. You come to school, you learn, you go home. 

The thing that makes coming to school endurable and enjoyable, though, is the students. Everyone in my class is really nice to me and tries to help me with whatever I need. I have a really good friend in my class that speaks fluent English, and she helps me the entire day, which makes my life much easier. I haven't had anyone be mean to me, and there's always someone friendly to talk to. Even if the school portion of the day isn't going so well, my friends and peers will always leave me smiling. 

Overall, I'd say that I prefer American schools. But school is a huge portion of my exchange and I'm embracing it for all it is. Like AFS says, "It's not bad, it's just different". Being in IES Las Encinas has made me appreciate Cal so much more and I look forward to being back there for my junior year. 

Look for a general life post coming soon and thanks for reading this!  

Adios,

Sam