A long, long overdue update, I apologize for the delay!
The first weeks of school have been such a whirlwind, and I feel like this past weekend was the first chance I had to catch my breath. On top of that, I managed to catch two back-to-back colds and observed Yom Kippur. But the good news: I’m feeling much better, the fast was easy, and I am entering this week with my lessons planned, materials prepped, and having had a fun and restful weekend despite my travel (more later!).
First, school! We began classes last week after a transition to our new building the week before. Ready was a relative term, we realized, and entering the building on Monday morning two weeks ago about 30 minutes before students were to arrive, we were all a bit confused as to why this building was deemed “ready.” It was safe, there were external doors and windows, and a few bathroom stalls, but we lacked: bathroom locks, internal windows, most of our classrooms, some paint, and chairs. But day-by-day, things have begun to arrive, classrooms are mostly functional, walls are filling up with posters, and school is beginning to feel like school! Still missing some chairs, but that’s what the ground is for! Importantly, our dining hall has been very functional since Day 1. And we got locks on our bathrooms by Day 3! Those first few days, we employed fellow teachers as bathroom sentries. It was a…bonding experience?
After a chaotic few weeks, it has been nice to settle into my routine. I take the short metro trip to the campus near me each morning, wait with my colleagues for a few minutes, saying hello to the teachers arriving for their day. Then we board our coach bus and take one of a rotating list of routes to school, arriving on campus somewhere between 25 and 45 minutes later. We’re convinced the bus drivers get paid by the minute, because they always seem to take the longest way suggested by Google Maps. But the buses are comfortable, and I chat, read, or listen to music on the way out.
My classroom, as of today, is finally (nearly) fully set up (see photos!). The wall will continue to fill, but my bulletin board area and posters are placed. Thanks to Molly for the human body poster (from a gifted Anatomy book…15 years ago?). I have covered it with a seasonal rotation of shorts, hoping to avoid the Middle Schoolers being middle schoolers.
On the personal front, I took the day off for Yom Kippur and observed at the Madrid Reform Community. Out of respect for their privacy concerns, I won’t share more here, but I’d love to talk about it individually. I broke my fast like any good Jew who can’t find a good bagel, with Ramen! The Spanish dinner schedule forced me to observe the full 25 hours (8:30 opening!).
This past weekend, I left school and hopped on a flight to London! Impressively, I thought, I made it from the door of the school to the gate in about 50 minutes (and the Madrid international terminal has an underground plane train to get out to it). This bodes well for future weekend travel! On Saturday, my cousin got married, and I joined my grandparents (Gogo and Opa) for the ceremony and reception! See some photos below. We stayed in Northeast London, and I had a lovely time with so many family members. I was missing proper fall weather (Madrid is still in the mid-70s most of the day), and enjoyed donning my sweater and the crunch of fallen leaves underfoot. On Sunday, we had brunch and an amazing chance run-in with cousins on the other side of the family (the universe really is astounding). After that, I had a nice walk through Primrose Hill and returned back to Heathrow for the trip home. I enjoyed seeing a lot of one neighborhood in London, and despite the flights and trains, felt like I had a very peaceful weekend.
This upcoming weekend, my birthday weekend, I’ll be heading south on a train to Málaga with Paula. Sunday (my birthday) is a national holiday in Spain so we have Monday off of school. I guess the whole country will be observing my 23rd 🙂
Look out for more photos and updates soon, I promise they will be more regular. My real camera has emerged from my drawer, and I have included some photos below of art at the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum from an impromptu weekend stop with Paula. Also, check out my really stylish PE-teacher tracksuit. The kids have no idea what’s coming for them. My best to all!
Abe Tolkoff 