Global Classrooms Conference
Dear whoever peruses my blog/vlogs,
First and foremost, let me apologize for not updating my blog more frequently. I could promise to do better and be better about this, but I respect you all too much to lie to you like that. I have returned to Madrid, and am almost over the homesickness. It was a lovely two weeks at home, and I am so very grateful to have been able to fly back to the Dirty for the holidays and see all my wonderful friends and family. I have missed them all something fierce.
The Global Classrooms conference was held on the 15th of January. My students at IES San Juan Bautista killed it! They did a fantastic job, and I could not be more proud of their work. I was a helper on the first day (i.e. I passed notes and added delegations to the Speaker's List), and a director on the second (i.e. I did other stuff). It was really lovely seeing these past few months of work come together in such a fluid and rewarding manner. My five delegations of Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Gambia, Mali, and Romania all did a wonderful job. So wonderful, in fact, that our school was selected to move onto the second conference. Holler! I am uber excited to continue working with these amazing students. They all emailed me individually after the conference to say how much they enjoyed the experience, and how much they appreciated the work that Claire and I did preparing them for that day. They also emailed me asking to start every class period with the "shark dance," an ice breaker that our fantastical chair, Russell, started us off with during the conference. My students absolutely j'adore him.
I would be remiss not to mention everything that happened on the day of the conference. Just about 35 minutes before starting, I received a phone call from some friends back home letting me know that my long-time amigo Roman Marquez had passed away. I immediately went cold and lost all words. My emotions were screwy and all over the place. Anger, disbelief, and sadness all seemed to be battling it out in my brain and in the pit of my stomach. My first instinct was to drop everything and go back to my piso to book a flight back home. In the end, I decided to stay until lunch. There wasn't much I could do back at my place beyond lock myself in my room and sob uncontrollably; that would happen a a bit later. Moreover, I just didn't want to be alone.
Break-time came and went, and I was ready to go home when I ran into my Costa Rica kiddies in the stairwell. I was a helper in their room so they had seen (and heard) a lot of me (my five inch heels had been clicking all around the room for the past 4 hours). They asked if I would be with them the whole day. I wanted to tell them I was leaving soon, but I instead asked if they wanted me to stay. Resounding yes! They said that having me there made them feel confident, and like a friend was looking after them. How could I leave now? I decided to stay, and I am ever so glad that I did. They mercked the second half of the conference.
It was a bittersweet day for sure. I do want to dwell a little on the positives for a bit. The few people I did tell about my friend's passing showed me the most beautiful of kindnesses. I'll forever be grateful for their soothing words and comforting hugs. Thank you. My students did an amazing job, and gave me something to look forward to on what started off as such a hopeless day. Thank you. Finally, thanks to everyone back home that emailed, texted, or phoned me. Roman was one of my best friends. He was beautiful and soulful and so full of life. Eli-bean misses and so very much loves you.
American hugs, Spanish kisses
Elix
First and foremost, let me apologize for not updating my blog more frequently. I could promise to do better and be better about this, but I respect you all too much to lie to you like that. I have returned to Madrid, and am almost over the homesickness. It was a lovely two weeks at home, and I am so very grateful to have been able to fly back to the Dirty for the holidays and see all my wonderful friends and family. I have missed them all something fierce.
The Global Classrooms conference was held on the 15th of January. My students at IES San Juan Bautista killed it! They did a fantastic job, and I could not be more proud of their work. I was a helper on the first day (i.e. I passed notes and added delegations to the Speaker's List), and a director on the second (i.e. I did other stuff). It was really lovely seeing these past few months of work come together in such a fluid and rewarding manner. My five delegations of Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Gambia, Mali, and Romania all did a wonderful job. So wonderful, in fact, that our school was selected to move onto the second conference. Holler! I am uber excited to continue working with these amazing students. They all emailed me individually after the conference to say how much they enjoyed the experience, and how much they appreciated the work that Claire and I did preparing them for that day. They also emailed me asking to start every class period with the "shark dance," an ice breaker that our fantastical chair, Russell, started us off with during the conference. My students absolutely j'adore him.
IES San Juan Bautista :)
IOM 1 :)
I would be remiss not to mention everything that happened on the day of the conference. Just about 35 minutes before starting, I received a phone call from some friends back home letting me know that my long-time amigo Roman Marquez had passed away. I immediately went cold and lost all words. My emotions were screwy and all over the place. Anger, disbelief, and sadness all seemed to be battling it out in my brain and in the pit of my stomach. My first instinct was to drop everything and go back to my piso to book a flight back home. In the end, I decided to stay until lunch. There wasn't much I could do back at my place beyond lock myself in my room and sob uncontrollably; that would happen a a bit later. Moreover, I just didn't want to be alone.
Break-time came and went, and I was ready to go home when I ran into my Costa Rica kiddies in the stairwell. I was a helper in their room so they had seen (and heard) a lot of me (my five inch heels had been clicking all around the room for the past 4 hours). They asked if I would be with them the whole day. I wanted to tell them I was leaving soon, but I instead asked if they wanted me to stay. Resounding yes! They said that having me there made them feel confident, and like a friend was looking after them. How could I leave now? I decided to stay, and I am ever so glad that I did. They mercked the second half of the conference.
It was a bittersweet day for sure. I do want to dwell a little on the positives for a bit. The few people I did tell about my friend's passing showed me the most beautiful of kindnesses. I'll forever be grateful for their soothing words and comforting hugs. Thank you. My students did an amazing job, and gave me something to look forward to on what started off as such a hopeless day. Thank you. Finally, thanks to everyone back home that emailed, texted, or phoned me. Roman was one of my best friends. He was beautiful and soulful and so full of life. Eli-bean misses and so very much loves you.
American hugs, Spanish kisses
Elix
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