Kids' Interviews and Videos: The Last Day of School

It's hard to believe that this moment has arrived! The kids made it through a trimester in Spanish Public School, and we are so proud of them. I took lots of pictures and videos of their last two days at Colegio San Isidoro, and interviewed them briefly to preserve their memories of this bittersweet day.

Bundled up in the chilly morning, we decided to walk to school again (as opposed to biking), like we used to when it was warm and we had a working stroller.

Through the narrow streets we went

Before walking in, Erik makes the kids huddle and chant "Allebests, Allebests, Allebests!!" Lindsay and Lucy claim to be embarrassed that they have to do it in front of everyone but we know they secretly love it. This video is actually from the second-to-last day of school.

And this is the real last day of school. We wanted to do the routine that we used to do every day. Walking the kids to school as a family has been one of my favorite parts of this whole trip.

The other reason we decided to stop biking to school is that I realized that my feelings about Spain have been plummeting every day that I lead my family through these streets on bikes. This is the plaza we have to cross through with our little ducklings every day. There is no crosswalk, and cars and motorcycles empty from three streets into this roundabout. Notice the man crossing the street, and that blue car continuing on, narrowly missing him. I like walking a lot better than biking - we're more in control and can hold the kids' hands.

I daily witness cars skimming past pedestrians - twice it has been my own daughter on her bike in this crosswalk, which we cross multiple times each day. I caught the phenomenon on my camera - you can see the green walk light and the car going through. This was the third car to do it in that minute while I fumbled for my camera. Sadly, Erik saw a fatality on the road as her rode his bike to CrossFit last week - he has to ride past the blood stain on the pavement every day, which reminds him of the danger and has added to our anxiety and frustration with drivers' disregard for pedestrians. If we lived here longer I would take it upon myself to do something about it. Anyway... I am grateful we have stayed safe!! And also grateful for laws in the US that protect bikers and walkers!!

Ok, back to the kids' last day of school. We walked to school together, bursting with pride that our strong, brave children met this incredible challenge. Erik brought Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Cups back from California for their classes (PB cups don't exist here), and we had spent parts of each day for the past week writing letters to teachers and special friends. I had asked their teachers beforehand if I could visit the kids' classes to take pictures and share some American treats. Everyone was so enthusiastic and gracious - it was a beautiful experience. And when I gave my note and chocolates to the office staff I broke down and cried. Saying thank you to Mister Twinkle (I found out his real name is Federico) was so emotional for me. My kids tell me how kind he has been to them every day, especially to Stone. We have pictures on our wall that he helped Stone color at the beginning of the year when Stone was crying every day at school, and I am glad I had the chance to hug him and tell him how much that meant to me as Stone's mom.

I love this video - he had started to know each one of these children.

His teacher surprised me (more like shocked me) by presenting Stone with a little book of pictures that each of the children had drawn for him. She had guided the class in the project during the afternoons when Stone wasn't there. It is so beautiful!

Our family has watched this video over and over. The Spanish kisses are so sweet and hilarious!

I actually have really fond feelings for this woman now.  She comes from such a different culture and was trained in a very different educational philosophy, but she did eventually have patience with my Stone, and she did help Stone through a really intense part of his life. They were starting to get used to each other. :)

Erik came to school to pick up Stone so I could visit the girls' classrooms.

I had never been allowed anywhere in the school except for Stone's classroom! It was so fun to finally see the building where my girls spent five hours, five days per week!

Lucy's 4th grade class

Her teacher adored her (and the feeling was mutual)

Lindsay's teacher was full of praise and gratitude for Lindsay, which of course made me so happy.

Lindsay had the unwelcome job of being in charge of the class and reporting to the teacher if she ever had to step out for a moment. Lindsay did not relish this position as class tattle-tale, and I was so amused and happy that I got to see her in action!!!

Lindsay's 6th grade class

It was so fun for Sophie to share a treat that none of her classmates had ever seen or heard of.

Sophie's teacher was quite emotional when she said how much she would miss her. She was such a sweet, gentle lady! There was a wonderful feeling in her classroom.

Sophie's 1st grade class

Some of Lindsay's friends saying good-bye after school

We biked to an American restaurant after school for a celebration lunch. When we're all together Erik goes first with the trailer, then Lucy, then Lindsay, then Me.

One of the drawings from Stone's special book. This is by a four-year-old.... they really do spend a lot of time doing Art every day!

STONE

Amy: What did you do in school today?

Stone: Today I did the same thing as every day, which was coloring, and just listening to the teacher. All we do in class, every day, the first, the second, the third, the fifteenth. Just listen, color, listen, color.

Amy: But was there anything special because it was your last day?

Stone: Yes, sharing the Peanut Butter cups, and everyone kissed me goodbye.

Amy: What did you end up thinking about school in Spain?

Stone: If I got out of the lines a little bit, she would not yell at me. And if I said "pee pee!! Pee pee!!" then she would let me stand up and get out of class. So I would do that a lot but not really go to the bathroom. But sometimes I really did have to go. The kids and the teacher turned out to be awesome, except the bully. Although... he was awesome at being mean. Like, he was awesome at punching me and kicking me at recess, but not playing.

SOPHIE

Amy: What did you do in school today?

Sophie: Well, school is really fun. And at recess my friends played with me. Carlota pretended to be a screaming baby, and that was funny. And in class when I was passing out the peanut butter cups, Sofia told me that she hates Peanut Butter so much that she thinks she's allergic to them! But then she said "ok, I'll try one," and then after she ate it she asked me if she could have another one! It was really fun for you to come into my class.

Amy: What did you think about school in Spain?

Sophie: It was awesome because the kids were so nice. There were problems sometimes with Lucia or with the two Elenas, but mostly everyone was really really nice. And the teacher was so nice, I am sad to leave her. I wish we could stay all year.

LUCY

Amy: Compare your first day of school to your last day.

Lucy: Well, my first day I was more nervous obviously because it was a new school in a new place with not my first language, and I didn’t know anyone so I was going in scared. And I met the lady who was apparently my new teacher, but she grabbed my wrist and just pulled me around, and I wasn’t used to teachers who were so stern, so I was kind of nervous when she pulled me into the class, and she would yell a lot more than I was used to. But then I realized that I would only have her for four weeks – she was just a substitute. So finally when I got my new teacher, she was much nicer, and so I felt much more comfortable. But Stone was having a hard time, and everyone was trying to play with me, and I was so overwhelmed that I was about to blow up.

My last day of school – well, when I got there I was more excited about leaving, but half of me was super duper DUPER sad, because I had 500 million friends in there and I was really sad to leave them, and I don’t know anyone in San Clemente so I was starting to feel scared about that. In the middle of the trimester it felt like it would never end, but then on the last day I realized that we’re never, ever, ever coming back. And to see my friends’ faces when I told them that I wasn’t coming back (because apparently they thought that I was just going on vacation – so they were surprised when I told them I was going back to the US) made me really sad. My friends at school have been so nice – they’re always so smiley and they’re always trying to play with me and trying to help me, and on the last day of school, my friend Lisa, the one I had a play date with, after I was done packing my backpack with all my journals and stuff, grabbed my backpack and insisted on carrying it for me. And it was like 500 pounds heavier than normal! She’s skinny so I thought it was going to crush her but she just wanted to carry it for me. And Lucia carried my big puffy coat for me. As my crowd of friends walked down the stairs with me, I saw that bully from Stone’s class scowling at me and yelling at us.  And that was probably the thing I wanted to see the least. But I had seven girls just walking around me and in my ears I heard a big mish mash of “No, don’t go! Please stay! The whole school will miss you!! We love you!!” and hugging me and jumping on me. And Lucia held onto me for like 5 minutes. She sat in front of me and I felt like she loved me the most, like a cousin or something.

LINDSAY:

Amy: Looking back, talk about some of the challenges of school in Spain.

Lindsay: I take back any thoughts or comments about American boys being immature. They are not. Spanish boys are immature.

Also, I seriously considered sneaking my iPod in to record my teacher yelling at the class. You could tell she didn’t smoke, unlike the rest of Spanish adults, because she didn’t have the super-low witch voice that most Spanish women have. But multiple times per week she would go on and on about how we just couldn’t be quiet and were so impolite. (It’s true that most of the boys were really loud, but the rest of us were better behaved.) One time she said we were more like animals than children. And she made us write “When my teacher is out of the classroom, I will not talk or leave my seat” ten times.

Amy: Ok, tell me about some of the joys of Spanish school.

Lindsay: My friends were awesome. Their names are Sofia, Inés, Natalia, Estrella, Blanca, Marta, Alejandra and Candela. A few days ago we started playing this really fun game at recess which is kind of like Cat’s Cradle with your feet. Two people would stand with this super big rubber band around their feet, and we would have to jump around on it and twist and not step on it. (There is no playground equipment or grass at the school – it’s just a cement square outside, and most of the space is taken up by the boys playing soccer with foam balls.) Sofia and I had two play dates, once at her apartment and once at our house, and she was the first girl to greet me on the first day of school. All of the girls were so nice, and really nice to Lucy, Sophie and Stone too. I feel really grateful to have had such nice friends at school.

Also, they have this really weird way of doing division – it is upside down and backwards. My teacher made me learn it, and now I can do most problems with it (I still get stuck sometimes). It was fun to learn it. The only bummer was that since last year I was doing 6th and 7^th grade Math, I was re-learning everything I already knew. But that was good because I aced all my Math tests, and it made me appreciate Ms. Carrie and Mrs. Pal at Castro School.

It was awesome to become more fluent in Spanish, but I still stink at those ridiculously complicated Spanish verbs, like “preterito pluscuamperfecto del modo subjuntivo.” Which is, using the verb beber, hubiera o hubiese bebido. They are so darned complicated!

The last day of school was fun because Mommy brought Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter Cups in, which everyone loved. We also gave my teacher some English Toffee (I was sad that Mom made me give it away when Dad brought it back from California). J Everyone hugged me over and over, and did the Spanish double-kiss – bump cheeks and “mwah” on each side.