3. First day of school

I would like to start off by saying that Spain has thus far been only good to me. Even when it wasn’t that great, everything turned out all right in the end.

So, let’s start;

We got home around half past two in the afternoon. My family lives in Montecarmelo, which is a suburb to the North of Madrid. It is very new, built roughly fifteen years ago. All the buildings are modern apartment blocks, built with red bricks. After five days everything still looks the same to me and the only saving grace are the street names and the supermarket across from our apartment block, called Mercadona (they are very common here in Spain). By the time we got home my host mother had come home as well and met us in the basement parking lot. All of us then proceeded to get into the small elevator and ride to the top floor (there are only 3).

Their home is beautiful! It is smaller than I’m used to, but that means that there is no extra space, so everything fits perfectly. The house (apartment) has two floors. The first has the kitchen and dining area, two bedrooms and two bathrooms(one ensuite) and the living room. Upstairs is a study area, a bathroom and… my room. Marcos told me that the room used to be the girls’ playroom when they were little. It is absolutely splendid! The whole one side of the wall is “floor windows”, which open unto the balcony that has a spectacular view of the financial district of Madrid. It faces directly south, which means I have sun the whole day long and I can see it rise and set. I can’t believe how fortunate I am.

We had some lunch, after which I slept for two hours. Then I had to unpack my suitcases and settle into my room. I realised that this would be the first time in five years that I could settle into a room without having to pack a suitcase each week. It took me a moment to process.

We ate out that night. The restaurant was on the opposite corner of our block, called Volapié. We had typical tapas, which is small portions of food put on a central plate from which the whole table eats. I had some new experiences and some quite normal.

I made sure we sorted out the first night questions on the first night. There were no problems, the Franco Davo’s are a very

easy going family, which I am happy for.

THE NEXT DAY

My dad takes the girls to school at 8.30. He had to take his car in for a service, so after that was done, we took the metro home, which gave me the opportunity to learn how Spanish public transport works. It is very efficient and easy to use, you must just know where you are going and which station you need to get off at.

After we got home we had coffee and then set out again. This time by bus to my new school, so I could see the route. I met the principal and got my timetable. Six subjects a day, 55 minute periods, school from 8.15 to 14.10 and one break for 25 minutes halfway through. Nothing I couldn’t handle. I would start on Thursday.
The rest of the day was quiet.

In the evening we had to fetch Queca from her work, which is at the Telefónica Head Quarters. There we also bought me a new SIM card and cellular data package from MoviStar, which is like a Cell C or Vodacom in South Africa. The deal is €7 a month for 600MB data and calls at 3c a minute until your money runs out.

As for a bus ticket, until I can be registered in Madrid, I must buy tickets by trips, e.g. €12,20 for ten trips. Once I’m registered I am allowed to buy an Abueno, which is €20 a month for unlimited access to the metro (bus and train) in an around the city of Madrid.

THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

This had by far been the most exciting day of my five days here. Why? Mart-Marié got lost. Let me begin.

When I woke up the next morning, I was very nervous to go to school. What would everyone think of me, how would I be received, would I make it through the day without making a fool of myself? I started off by getting up very early and making sure I had enough time to get ready, eat, walk to the bus stop (across the street) and wait for a bus. The bus to school takes around 10-15 minutes, but I wanted to be there a bit earlier, so I was at the stop around 7.35 and got on the bus at about 7.40. Now I wouldn’t be late even if the bus broke down and I had to walk to school. It was at this point that I realised it was still dark outside and that all of Mirasierra, the suburb where my school is, also looks the same. So, I couldn’t remember how many stops it was from my bus stop to the one nearest to the school, I couldn’t see any landmarks because it was still dark and none of the stops have names, so that didn’t help either. So I made a choice. I would rather get off to early, than too late and just walk a little farther. We got near a stop that I thought looked familiar, I rang the bell for the bus to stop and got off. As the doors closed behind me and the bus drove away, I realised that this was the completely wrong stop. I then also realised that I had left my phone on charge in my room, so I wouldn’t be able to phone my family and ask them for help, neither could I use the maps I had downloaded. I was stuck in the 70’s.

I sighed, just keep walking, I told myself. Follow the numbers on the bus stops, Mart-Marié. But then I got to a circle where four roads diverged. Which one? I asked a girl walking her dog. She pointed in one direction and started speaking rapid Spanish. I only nodded and thanked her. I walked in that direction. Another bus stop with the right number. Another circle. Another person asked.

This went on for a while. But, suddenly I found myself somewhere I hadn’t been before. And in my panic I didn’t think to turn back and go to a familiar street. No, I carried on, further into the unknown, until I realised I would have to ask someone before I got mugged. I approached an old couple on their morning stroll and asked for directions. After they explained a bit I confessed I didn’t speak much Spanish and that’s when they took me to school. They walked with me the whole way to make sure I got there safely and soundly and saw me off. In the end, I only missed the bell by five minutes.

Follow this link to read how to the Spanish school system works: http://www.donquijote.org/culture/spain/society/customs/education-in-spain. So, I am in 2nd Bachillerato and my subjects are Maths, Geography, Economics, Philosophy, History, Spanish Language and Lit, English and History of Art. In Spain we don’t switch classes for every period. All my classes are in one room, except History of Art and Geography.

My principal introduced me to my class and immediately everyone was very friendly and helpful. They made sure I was always in the right class and included me in all the conversations, which I really appreciate!

As for actually going to school and understanding what’s going on in class. Not so much. I try to listen and follow on the handouts and write down the words I don’t understand to learn later, but that’s about all I can do.

And that’s it for the first two days of school. The next two post will be about the weekend and my experiences so far of the differences between South Africa and Spain.