School/Colegio/Instituto/Escuela

Sooo... as much as everyone thinks this is just some big vacation for me, and that I´m cool, and just get to tour Spain and Europe for a year,... well... I´m in school. Or whatever the heck it´s called.

Thankfully, school is still school: interesting, filled with other people´s children, alternating boring and not boring, (at times) fun, and as always... educational. But this time there´s a catch... [(you may have guessed it) (if not, then guess) (or read on)]
It´s all in Spanish!
Wow! Amazing! Incredibly unexpected!
Well, to be fair, that´s not all true because I have an English class! Yay! Oh wait... it´s for Spanish speakers. So, yeah, I have a class that is exactly like a Spanish (or French) class is to us English speakers. Except, hahaha, they actually try to learn English! (not sorry for that one kids)

But for real, school has been pretty good so far (for the first 5 days). The day starts at 8:15 and ends at 2:35 or something like that. There are 6 periods in a day on a block-ish schedule. There's a 30 minute break in between 3rd and 4th period, which is called recreo (yes, recess). Okay, so quiz time, for those of you paying attention, what is this regular school day missing? (Just guess).

Yes, LUNCH. We don't have lunch at the school. No lunch is served, but it is open campus for the 30 minute recess. And, we do live in the city center, so, yes, it is lunch. Most people bring a bocadillo (a sandwich/snack) or buy something to eat. During this time, you can do whatever: play sports, take a walk, eat, and finally use your phone (strict no phone rules inside school). And for those of you wondering, the more realer (thanks Ms. Easterday [English teacher] lunch is at 3pm when you get home from school. This meal is often as big as dinner or bigger. 

(Above) This picture is my schedule for each week. School lets out at 2:35 (I think). F.Q. is physics and chemistry. I.E. is well… I'm not even sure yet, but people tell me it is like a business class. Who knows. E.F. is physical education. 

Since some people still may not be convinced that I am NOT on an awesome vacation in Spain, I give you my schedule (pictured above). A full 12 classes. (Yes, you read that right [TWELVE CLASSES]). Granted, 3 I only have one time per week, but still, that's a lot of classes. But going to your next class is a little different here in Spain. Because the thing is… you don't go anywhere. Really. The teachers are the ones circulating through the classes, not the students. So I am in the same classroom almost all day for the rest of the course, which is kind of cool because this system makes it easy to store books that you don't need, you can just put them in the desk (which, by the way, are the old-school-ish ones with a "cubby" underneath the table). And also, guess what,… my classroom is on the 5th floor of the school. (They tell me the 4th but that's because they start with the 0th floor [it's still five flights of stair, I counted]). 

Anyways, that was all just to tell you a bit about how school looks like it's gonna be for me. Pretty good. I hope. 

Also, I AM on an awesome vacation, so, yes, you can still be jealous. 

Un saludo, Miguel