Carnaval, Futbol, Pamplona, y la primavera en Madrid :)

As you can probably tell by the lengthy title of this entry, I have a lot of updates to make!! The past two weeks have been busy and full of fun activities :) Two weekends ago, following the GC conference, I enjoyed a weekend in Madrid without a lot of work, which was great. It was Carnaval that weekend (the time before Ash Wednesday when there is a lot of celebration and partying), so everyone was out all weekend, dressed up in costumes, partying, and taking part in various celebrations throughout the city. My friends and I went to see the big parade that was in the center of the city, but there were SOO many people that we could barely see anything. Afterwards, I ended up going to an Atletico Madrid Futbol game, which was a bit of a surprise. Some of my friends had tickets and told me that there were still lots of seats and that I could just go to the stadium and buy a ticket. So, I tried it..and it worked!! I had been wanting to go to a Real Madrid game but hadn't gotten around to it (plus the tickets are really expensive and kinda hard to get), so this was a good consolation. Even if Atletico may not have been my preferred team, the game was tons of won (and less expensive) and they won, which made it even better!! That same weekend, I also went to the Teleferica (the cable car) with Ruth, which was fun! We got some really cool views of the city. And...we went, with a bunch of our other friends, to this great Galician restaurant (lots of yummy seafood!!)

The next week, I only had two days of school and then I was off to Pamplona with all the other Fulbrighters. Overall, the Fulbright trip was a very positive experience. It was fun to be with my friends and to also reunite with some people studying in other parts of Spain who I hadn't seen since orientation (and also reunite with some of the Madrid people who, for one reason or another, i just hadn't seen much...) We stayed in a nice hotel and were given lots of great food, which is always much appreciated by students who are used to staying in hostels :) It was also a very beautiful city and we were lucky to have beautiful, sunny weather, which certainly helped improve our experience! I have a really positive impression of Northern Spain- it is beautiful, the food is delicious, and teh people are extremely friendly. So, I'm excited to be heading back up north this weekend (to Bilbao and environs with Ruth!!)

After I got back to Madrid on Saturday afternoon, I spent the rest of the weekend with my friends Brandon and Keith, who were visiting from the States. We all went to Duke together, but I hadn't seen either of them in a few years, so it was really fun to re-unite! Plus, they had both studied abroad in Madrid four years ago, and were extremely excited to be back. We did a lot of walking around the city, chatting, laughing and eating more good Spanish food. It was really fun to have visitors and re-connect with old friends :)

And...this weekend, we had amazing weather in Madrid, so I took advantage of the sun and spent a lot of time outside. The weekend involved going out and catching up with some girl friends, sushi dinner with other friends, a nice, long,relaxing picnic in Retiro, multiple long walks around the city, one Duke bball landslide (and the return of Kyrie!), and another nerve-racking but ultimately satisfying Duke bball game that brought us to the Sweet 16! It was great! This week- back to my normal schedule more or less, and getting ready for my trip to Bilbao on Thursday night! Can't wait!

Proud Teacher Moments :)

Well, any of you who have been reading my blog or who have spoken to me at all about my experience here in Madrid know about Global Classrooms. Global Classrooms is the Model UN Conference for which Noel and I have been preparing out third-year students (14-15 year olds) for the past few months. We have worked extremely hard getting them ready for the conference, teaching them about public speaking, articulating coherent arguments, seeing the nuances of complicated issues, having confidence, and listening to the arguments of others. And the kids rose to the challenge, working hard and getting quite excited about the debate. Well, while it seemed like March 2nd, the day of the actual conference, would never come, it has indeed come and went and I must say, I am truly proud of my students!

I had high expectations for my students going in, because I knew that they could perform well and really challenge themselves, if they put in the effort. And, what makes me very proud as a teacher, is that they exceeded my expectations. In the end, they ALL worked really hard, they all participated during the conference, and what's more, they all had a great time on March 2nd, which to me, is what is most important.

Regardless of whether or not they won awards, they were all outspoken in their committees and they all showed that they have matured and learned a lot through the process. They have shown tremendous maturity and self-confidence, two skills that will serve them well in the future. And, while the prizes are certainly not the most important part of the experience, I must, as a very proud teacher, take a moment to brag. The delegations from my school won 6 awards, more than any other participating school! We had 11 delegations, so more than half of our delgations were formally recognized for their achievements. Out of 5 committees, 3 of the "best delegation" awards went to my students :) I couldn't be happier about how the day went!! And whats more...all of my students thanked us for our hard work and for helping them succeed, which really means a lot to me.

As I have mentioned previously, teaching can sometimes be a frustrating job, when the recognition and proud moments sometimes seem few and far between. But, it's moments like this one that make the job totally worth it. So, despite the long, tiring hours put into this project, and the feeling that it would never come to and end, I'm actually going to miss working with my kids on GC, now that it is finally over. I think this is an experience I will always remember, regardless of the careers that I pursue in the future.