Anecdotes from the Past Month

Here's three quick highlights from the past month before I add another, far more noteworthy post.

Once every trimester, the teachers at each of my schools have a dinner together. Last weekend, I had my second with the teachers from Albelda. I really enjoy spending time with the teachers from both of my schools, and this dinner was no exception. Perhaps the oldest teacher at the school is a special ed teacher with a very easygoing manner, a dual citizen of Venezuela and Spain named (or nicknamed) Coos. He sat across from me and never ceased to tell jokes, all in Spanish despite his considerable English skill acquired from travels in his younger days. The combined success of my being able to understand his punchlines about 25% of the time and the quality of his jokes made for a very enjoyable evening. One that I remember that also translates into English goes as follows:
          A teacher thinks Johnny and Jimmy cheated on their recent math test, so she takes them aside to talk about it. She points to the first answer. They both got it correct with eerily identical work. They reply that they studied together, so of course they solved the problem the same way. The teacher moves on the second question, which they both got wrong and made the same mistake. They reply that they were not the only ones who were fooled by that question, and surely they were not the only ones who made that particular mistake. The teacher then moves on to their third answer, to which Johnny has written "I don't know." Johnny is about to explain himself, when the teacher points out that Jimmy has written "Me neither."

Eduardo, the physical education teacher in Albelda was the person who connected me with my Thursday night basketball group, and we frequently talk about sports together. This week, he had organized a small volleyball tournament at recess. The tournament was essentially to see which team of students could beat the teachers...and none of them did while I was there. I've never been much of a volleyball player, but I was playing against teams of students who are more than ten years younger than me. Did I play nice? That depends on your definition of "nice." I didn't spike it hard...but I did spike it. A lot. I even spiked it with my back to the net once. Fortunately, the students all thought I was really good, rather than really mean, so I left that recess feeling pretty refreshed.

People know that Spain is obsessed with football (soccer). Most people also know that the two big teams in the Spanish league are FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. Support for those two teams effectively divides every one of my classes. One day, while talking about sights to see while traveling, my students in Alberite mentioned the Madrid stadium (Santiago Bernabéu). It was our last example before I erased the board, leaving the Barça supporters with their hands fervently up to name their stadium as well. Just to stir up trouble, I erased the board and wrote "Nou Camp" (Barcelona's stadium) in small letters where "Santiago Bernabéu" had been. The Madrid supporters instantly noticed and called for it to be changed. Then I hit upon the ultimate solution. I erased "Nou Camp" and wrote "Fenway Park." Problem solved.