Escuela

I am in such a writing mood right now that I am just gonna keep on going!

    Before  I touched base on what a day of school is like, but right now I am gonna bring you up close and personal with what a true day of school in Spain is like!

    At 8:10 AM the gate to the school is opened. We all flow through the halls at a relatively leisurely pace, because although our schedules say class starts at 8:10, it really starts at like 8:20, or whatever time the teacher decides to show up. The schedule here is DEFINITELY very laid back. 

    

     Not only is the schedule more relaxed here, but so is the teaching method / classroom etiquette. Students call their teachers either "Profi" short for professor or by the teachers first name. Students also talk ALL through class, and teachers just keep right on going. Its like paying attention here is an option rather than a requirement. 

    Class goes on for an hour and then when the bell rings both the students and teachers switch classes. Having teachers switch classrooms along with the students creates a different atmosphere in the classroom. Since the teacher is not assigned only one room, they do not decorate their classrooms. I know you might think this wouldn't make that much of a difference you are wrong. The ONLY things found in the classroom are desks, chairs, a teachers desk, and a smart board. It is actually quite sad learning in such an empty setting.

    After my second class we have break time. Here, if your parents give you permission like mine did, you are given a card that permits you to leave the school campus during this time. My friends and I do either one of two things. One, we just walk across the street and sit on a bench where other students are chilling from other classes or the other school located all of 20 feet away from mine, or two we go to the grocery store. So that's cool. 

    Oh! Another thing about break time! Break time is the ONLY time you have to go to the bathroom. Even if your teacher is perfectly willing to let you go to the bathroom during class time like mine was, (she must not have gotten the memo, because she let me go and let me find out on my own that) you will not get in to the bathroom because it is locked. Not only is it locked, but even when you ask for the key at the front desk with the sweetest, most innocent face (like mine) they will not let you in. So if you ever go to school in Spain, pee during break, or spend the rest of your day trying not to pee your pants.

    Then there is more class time blah, blah, blah. On Wednesdays everyone in my level of school has a class 8th period called TUT. TUT is basically a study hall, except you aren't expected to study, you just talk and talk!Today the main focus of TUT was Emily the American, and it was hilarious! The kids in class, all of whom are really nice and talkative, asked me a bunch of questions and it was just really, really fun! 

    Then at the end of the day, at 2:50 or before, depending if you teacher feels like teaching until the end of class time or not, we all flow out of the school and go our separate ways and eat at home with our families. So ya! School is good, life is good! I hope yours is too! BYE!!!