So regardless of the country, continent, whatever, I adore children. They are always so accepting, teach you when you least expect it, and usually squeeze a giggle or two out of every person that they meet. The same goes for the little ones in Spain. I'm currently volunteering for an hour each Thursday as a teacher assistant in a kindergarten classroom at a local private school. It's a good thirty minute walk from my house, and the entire way my imagination was a whirlwind of possible scenarios. I arrived and of course had no idea where I was supposed to be. The sad part is the teachers didn't either. However, they eventually figured out where my cooperating teacher was. She was on the playground, and I was taken there to meet her quickly before her class returned to the classroom where we would begin the children's English lesson.
You would've thought a giraffe or a Disney princess or something walked onto the playground. There were about forty children on that playground and every one of them stopped all of their games and looked at me. They acted like they didn't know what to think. All of the sudden there was a swarm, and I mean a swarm, of five-year olds tugging on me and all at once saying, "¿Cómo te llamas?" Which is Spanish for, "What is your name?" So of course I answered by stating my name. A few of them giggled, ran off, and whispered to their friends with the upmost excitement. Some of the others smiled and proceeded to say their name and ask if I was in their class. I even found one little girl, who had the most precious smile, who was so excited to find out that we had the same name. The teacher finally gathered about twenty five of the little ones up so that we could begin to venture towards the classroom.
There may have been less children in the classroom than on the playground, but it seemed as though the swarm of sticky children got bigger when we arrived in the classroom. They sounded like buzzing bees with all their questions. One little boy, named Mateo, found a pirate hook and started tugging on me and trying to wrestle me down to the ground. Oh, I forgot to mention that this was the same little boy who yelled at me, "Do you know you're ugly?" before we left the playground. I laughed but one of the little girls was about to start a smack down when he said that and responded back with, "Be quiet! She's pretty!" Anyhoo, the teacher had all the little ones sit down on the magic circle (apparently they exist in every culture) and asked them if they had any questions. Of course they all stare at her like little Bambis in the headlights, so she asks them to guess where I'm from. They all said Spain...then Africa....then they went blank again. One little boy piped up and said, "America!" I said yes and they all oooed and ahhhed. Then I spoke all of fifteen English words, which were instructions on our activity, and then it was all Spanish.
When it came time to leave, the teacher asked them to sit down and ask any questions they had or make any comments. Mateo ratted out Jaime and said, "He likes her A LOT!" Then he snickered and poor Jaime's face turned beet red. Then another five-year old asked if I had a job in the U.S. I of course responded yes, yes I do. And he politely told me to quit it and come work there because I was the best and nicest teacher ever.
Every time I'm in the classroom, my desire to teach is reinforced that much more. All of the children were very patient with me when I didn't understand them, and tried to teach me words like I taught them. They really are the best language teachers that anyone can have. But what amazes me even more than their cuteness and patience is how kind they are. One of the little boys has a few disabilities though I don't specifically know what they are. He's mentally challenged and cannot walk so he crawls. When it was that little boy's turn to say his name to me he was unable to understand the teacher or hold his head up high enough to really say it audibly. So the little boy next to him whispered the question and helped him hold up his head. Although the other little boy still did not say his name, his friend answered for him. Later another one of the students gladly helped the boy sit up at the table and asked the teacher to help get him settled so they could all enjoy doing the activity together because they were friends. I stood there amazed. These kids are five-years old and already their capacity to care and lack of discrimination is far beyond that of most adults. I can't wait to get to know each and every little Kool-Aid stained face and see what lessons they have in store for me in the months to come.
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