Today was my first day at my primary school in Alhaurin de la Torre. Let me tell you it was quite the adventure getting there. Jessica and I started our hike to the bus station at 6:50am, thinking we would be there in plenty of time to catch the 7:25am bus and arrive early to our town so we could find our way around and relax. Well. It didn't exactly happen like that. We trucked all the way to the bus station only to find out that our bus is actually at a different bus station, the bus station that is connected to the train station- a pretty far walk. So we rush to the bus station and make it there at 7:50. I'm a little disheartened by this point because according to the website, the next bus doesn't come until 8:30 and I am thinking we will definitely not make it to work on time. Lucky for me, I forgot what country I am in. I've noticed the websites in Spain are not always (or mainly never) up to date. This actually worked in my favor because we left on a 8am bus. Perfect. :). The bus ride was only like 20 minutes, too, which was different from the 45 minutes to an hour commute the internet told me. Nonetheless, I made it to Alhaurin in plenty of time.
We arrived in Alhaurin and Jessica and I went our separate ways to our schools. Alhaurin is a really beautiful town, it really is like pleasantville. The town has a backdrop of beautiful mountains and the streets are curvy and narrow. There are many fountains, which I found slightly humorous due to Andalucia's shortage of water. All the houses were tan or white. For the most part it is a very quiet, residential town. I continued to walk down one of the curvy streets not really having any sort of clue as to where I was going and I saw a mother walking her daughter to school. I chased after her like a crazy person and asked if she knew where C.E.I.P Issac Perral was. She told me that that's where they were going and that I could walk with them. We enjoyed a good five minute conversation before we arrived. All of the children were waiting in a line outside. I took a deep breath and entered the school.
Everything happened so fast it's like I didn't even have time to be nervous. I walked in and asked the first teacher I saw where the office was. Clearly she heard my accent and knew who I was. She smiled, gave me dos besos, grabbed my hand, and dragged me into the teacher's lounge. There I was greeted by about 20 teachers and staff members, all giving me dos besos and welcoming me. I met the bilingual coordinator, Susanna, and she also greeted me with open arms. Any anxiety and sense of fear immediately vanished because of their warmth and kindness.
After signing some papers, Susanna took me around the school for a tour, stopping at every classroom to introduce me. The children were so adorable!!! I followed Susanna around to some of the younger kids (3 year olds) in the morning and then hung out in the lounge with the teachers for "desayuno" (breakfast, at 11:30am). The teachers were so sweet to me, asking me all sorts of questions and making me feel comfortable and right at home. After the break, I went to a third grade science class and then to a third grade art class. In both classes I showed the students the United States and Spain. They couldn't believe how far it was! In both classes I was asked multiple times how long was the plane ride. They almost fell out of their chairs when I said nearly 7 hours! haha. I asked the students their names and how old they were. My favorite response was a boy who is half Spanish half Italian (kids tend to offer information easily), his response to "what is your name?" was "Jonny Depp." It's going to be a fun year!
I saw the face of love in the teachers and the children at that school. The teachers were so friendly and welcoming to me it was unbelievable. And those beautiful children- their eyes so curious and full of wonder, staring me down from head to toe. There sweet hands, tugging at my shirt every five seconds, "teecchhh urrr, teeecccchhh urrr!" Their little feet following me everywhere as they tried to say anything they could in English (Spanglish).
I feel completely blessed to have this job and to be where I am. I know without a shadow of a doubt that this is where God wants me to be and that's the most comforting thing ever. I look forward to see what the next few months hold. Hasta Luego.
Besitos.
KA
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