Te voy a llevar al huerto, chato!

Thursday January 14, 2010

My favorite class to work with is still my first grade class. But how well each lesson goes can be a crapshoot, depending on my students’ behavior. Today was a pretty good day, though. This week, we’ve moved on to a different unit: family. I don’t know if it’s an easy theme, or if the kids are beginning to learn more quickly, but they seem to be catching on to the family vocab at a fast pace. I like seeing their faces light up when I ask a question and they actually know the answer. Andres always gives my favorite reaction: it’s like this moment of realization right before he spits out a word; you can see his eyes get really big like he’s going to explode the response “grandpa!” And I love Jose Maria’s pronunciation: sometimes I have to bite my lip to keep from laughing. He stares at my mouth when I talk to try and imitate my pronunciation. He’s always so close, but no cigar. Example: Me, “sister”. Jose, “Shistow.” Que mono…

And then there are always the stinkers: I really have no idea what to do with Pedro and Josefina. Pedro just does whatever he wants whenever he wants. When I countdown “5, 4, 3, 2, 1, quiet,” Pedro adds, “yeah, quiet!” Uh, that includes you, Pedro. Josefina just never listens. I swear, Arancha will chastise the kids in a five minute rant about sitting down, and there she is standing by her desk sharpening a pencil. -??-
Half the time we don’t know whether to laugh or fume; so we usually settle for eye rolling from across the room.

Anyway, the day is Thursday. Which means I anticipate tapas at el Mirador followed by copas at el Laberinto. This day especially; it was the first week back after almost a month of vacation, and I hadn’t experienced a Thursday at the Mirador in too long.

Lo and behold, we’re not going to Mirador. Tonight is Sandra’s last night in Albox (she works with all of the other professors at Martin Garcia Ramos) before transferring schools. To celebrate, we head to a restaurant called La Zaranda – I only remember the name because it sounds like Sarandon, as in Susan Sarandon. (Hey, you do what you have to in order to keep random Spanish words from flying in one ear and out the other). It’s good to finally see all the professors again: Sylvia, Maria Angela, Gustavo, Aurora, Luis, and of course Sergio.

Thirst-quenching cerveza: check. Delicious food: check. Raucous behavior and inappropriate table conversations: check. Halfway through dinner, as usual, we begin exchanging how-to-says in our respective languages. ** Quick preface: earlier in the week, Alex and I made a bet to see who could recall the most Spanish idioms and use them nonchalantly in conversation with our Spanish friends.** So, I’m talking about how clumsy I am (as I spill salad all over my lap), and Alex is trying to explain “bromance” to Gustavo in English. Somewhere the conversation turns to a more promiscuous topic, and we learn the expression, Te voy a llevar al huerto, chato! Translation: I’m going to take you to the orchard, baby (to, you know…). Or: I’m going to have my way with you. So, in a quiet moment, Alex shouts to Sergio, “Te voy a llevar al huerto, chato!” for all to hear. Damn, point for Alex.

All in all, a great dinner - Croquetas (fried breading filled with cheese-kind of like mozzarella sticks but way better), salad with goat cheese, bacalao (which I recently learned is Cod fish), mmmmm. But it still left me wanting more. At el Mirador, the food is better, and less than half the price. There’s something inexplicable about the environment; it’s smokey, loud, and cramped from having to shove four tables together and squeeze in the corner. There’s really no menu so it’s always a surprise what food comes to the table. And I love it. I like the familiarity of a weekly ritual, a common meeting place where the waiters know us and I recognize other regulars. Until next week…

After la Zaranda, el Laberinto. Unlike the norm, this week it’s not packed full of people. I guess after the holidays, fewer people have it in them to make it to the bars. Bueno, a few copas, lots of laughs (I love drunk Sergio), and even some philosophical conversations (although, Lyndsey if you’re reading this, I’m sure you’re thinking that the latter is a common occurrence with me). Had a heart-to-heart discussion with Gustavo about religion. He confessed that I’m the first Jew he’s met, which is kind of a strange sensation since my world is so full of Jews back home. I hope I can represent our people well (yeah right, great Jew I am after eating a ham-filled dinner…). Another great Thursday in Albox, buenas noches.