There were a lot of Americans staying at the Student and Travelers Inn which was really..comforting? It's funny, to be in a country completely different, where you don't speak the language and hear people walking by speaking in English. I've decided Greek would be a really difficult language to learn, I gave up trying to figure it out after the first 2 hours.
The trip went really smoothly, no traveling hitches or complications. Will went with me, and we took the 1 am overnight bus from Cordoba to Madrid, it arrived at 5:45 am which gave us enough time to get to the airport (the black hole of Madrid airport) and catch our flight at 8:30 am. We stopped in Budapest, Hungary and then continued onto Athens. We arrived at 3:45 and successfully stayed up to catch the processions at the church down the street that started at 9. It was really interesting to see how 2 countries celebrated Easter (Spain, last week during Semana Santa and Greece this past weekend). They were very different but both really special.
The next morning we did a walking tour all over the city (Acropolis, Agora, Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, etc.,) and it was really amazing to be in the middle of a bustling city that had so much history. I can't really explain, but the nerd in me was really content.
Afterwards, a group of us went to the Cathedral to see the festivities for Saturday and then to dinner around 1 am to eat the typical Easter meal (lamb soup..lamb innards, lamb everything) After seeing the lamb being roasted infront of us..I think we lost our appetite. It was a 9 euro disappointment. Amazingly, jamon didn't seem so bad after that.
The next morning we went and hiked to the highest point of the city. There is a little cathedral at the top, and you get a complete panorama of the city. The hike was harder than any of us had anticipated and bees were bumbling about all over the place. After that, I went with the girls who were studying in Cairo around the city and stopped in each stop to look at everything..we found Greek armor and went nuts.
Monday was my birthday, and in the morning all I wanted was a Caramel macchiato from Starbucks (there are 4 in Athens) so we left the hotel relatively early and I sat, completely intent watching the workers set up for the day. Greek coffee was really different, at first I was worried that they made it wrong because they keep the coffee grounds in the bottom of the cup, so it has a grainy flavor. Kind of different :)
After taking the overnight bus again and flying 6 hours..I wasn't too thrilled to start teaching immediately upon arrival at 7:30 am in Posadas. I taught for the rest of the afternoon and then went home, made pasta because I was feeling totally lazy, and ended up sleeping until this morning. Basically, I went into a coma.
Wednesdays are my short days, and today I don't have tutoring in the evening so i'm going back to Alajar to get my hair cut at 1. My classes today were kind of frustrating. The students in Third Year really don't care about learning. They were really talkative, drumming at their desks, clicking their pens, walking around, playing with eachother's hair, etc. After yesterdays class with the rude/insolent boys in the back of the class, I was kind of drained by talking over the students. Discipline is relatively impossible at the school..because the students who misbehave want to get suspended and expelled so they don't have to come anymore.
When did education become a punishment?
I feel bad, the students are mixed, so there are students with learning disabilities, slow learners, and really smart, dedicated students in the same class. Some kids don't even take notes or pay attention, at all. It's just..frustrating. Maria Bravo was really bothered by them today in class as well..she said she's exhausted and doesn't know what to do with the students. Yesterday a boy put a chair over his head and stood up in class, when she caught him, she made him come to the front of the room and hold the desk over his head but it just ended up distracting the students. It's hard to punish them without giving them the suspension they want (aka, going to the principals office) letters are sent home and on the third letter they get suspended. So how do you punish students that want to be punished? I need help...not really sure how to handle it.
This weekend I'm going to London and we leave on Friday and come back on Monday. I'm trying to create a "must see" list..I definitely want to go back to the British Museum, see Big Ben, and visit a couple parks and gardens. I'm excited to go, although it's going to be drab weather, London is still my favorite city to visit.
Missing you, thanks for all the birthday wishes!
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