Spiffy's RollerCoaster Life... Caminando Por La Vida

An old entry which I didn't get to submit !

I am not sure if I have mentioned the "Jornadas de India" much or not, but I would like to speak a bit about them on my blog anyway. I also am making a website about its making of, it forms part of "The English Project".

So...
The grand story of "The Jornadas de India":

A long time ago, when I realised every department was slowly gathering ideas to do for these Jornadas, so I made my way up to the Plástica (art) teacher, and asked if I could help him again like I did last year, in the Jornadas de Rusia. He said I could. Awesome. It was a long time before I heard anything else about it.

Then the maths department began thinking, and my tutor - the maths teacher - our maths teacher, caught up to me, and said he would very much like me to help with explaining and such for the Jornadas, or at least to help some because I was "good at maths" because I was in the "Estalmat Project". I said I didn't mind, but I would prefer not to act much, because I wanted to see the different activities, but that I would not mind helping. Sure - they said.

Then, the technology department made a public plead to everyone to pop down every Wednesday to help them, they needed help. Ok... The Drama department began asking everyone for help too, see if we could help with anything. I said I was already enrolled into many things, but if I had any spare time between it all, and there was something for me to do, I would not mind doing it. Ok...

Several days later, during the English evaluation exam, I was interrupted by the German teacher, who said I would have to choose between English & German department and Maths department for the Jornadas. I said I was doing maths, and that I hadn't signed up for German then why would I have to choose.
When the exam ended, he said he just wanted me to explain a bit for their project, Mandala workshop, because I knew English well, and was fluent with it, and they would understand me much better (...).
I agreed I didn't mind helping, but I asked if I could just do maths one day or two, and then the other days I would participate in the German activity, and that way, I would be able to do both (and basically break the resolution of "I won't act this year, I want to see what every department is doing" I thought to myself).
The German teacher said this wasn't possible, because the secretary wouldn't allow it and blahblahblah... The secretary? Why wouldn't the secretary allow it? I was thinking about that.
In the end I said I would not choose either, I would do both, and we would see if it was possible or not. :)

It was kept in this position for a long time, and I spent a lot time shuttling between technology and German. Not much was needed to be done for maths. Then, technology needed the older people to help with building (which is fine by me, because I like technology, but building projects within a limit of time I find stressing, and I don't always enjoy doing it... Though the outcome is nice), so they didn't need the 2º ESO people, although I think one of my friends - Sara -  was a "captain" of one of the thingies being built, so she stayed. :)

Eventually, I ended up doing both German and Maths. About the day before the inauguration day, I got my timetables clear. Wednesday I'd spend the whole day (O.O) explaining mathematics. I would miss two German Mandala Workshop explanations, but I would get them covered by Sara (^_^), so that was nothing to worry about. Thursday, last two afternoon hours I'd be doing German. The last two hours on Friday would be devoted to german too, and clearing up Maths and German (grumble). We are speaking about Wed 20th, Thur 21st and Fri 22nd - they have already passed, haha.

I didn't turn up to any German rehearsals, hahahaha, but I didn't hear about any either, though since I was the person who summarised and translated into English the Spanish Mandala Information, I knew what I had to say.

I didn't turn up to any German rehearsals because I was doing Maths rehearsals. Maths teacher, Dª Amparo, said I had to explain Multiplicación India (Indian Multiplication), La Prueba de los Nueves (The 9 Test) and Parchís (Ludo). So, I stood on top of this wooden thing which is set on the floor so the teacher's table stands higher than everyone elses table, and was now being used as a kind of stage. All the decoration had been put up, so at first sight, you would never guess this was a science lab, but if you looked behind all the cloth, you could see all the scrunched up tables and the lab's implements put away in cupboards.

I began to explain, and explained as well as I could, and as loud as I could.
"Speak up!"
"I am!"
*Explains louder*
"LOUDER! Shout Inés!"
"...I have a sore throat, but I will be OK tomorrow"
"Ok, but don't forget"
*more explaining*
(to person handling powerpoint for me) "Don't switch to the next slide till she is done - don't forget!!"

Well, I finally finished, and the teacher came over to me to say I explained really well and that I was very good at it. :o  I didn't really believe that. If you ask me, it was just a normal explanation. The person who was handling the powerpoint, a boy a few grades higher up than me, 4th ESO I'd say, or maybe 1st Bachillerato, but I am not sure (thats 10 - 11 grade for US people, I think), said I was very good, and that he was "flipped" whenever he heard it being explained, that it seemed more exciting. I suppose that must be good, because most people above 9th grade seem to get unappreciative, so that's quite a high praise, so I guess I was praise, and hoped I would explain the same way tomorrow, though I was not sure what it was that made it so "great" or so "bad"...


Later on that day (it was Tuesday, and the Jornadas began on Wednesday) was the Inauguration. It is very nice to attend to, and any teacher was entitled with the right to go, and those students who had stayed behind afternoons and had come on weekends to the school to help (like me with painting, hehe) were welcome to come to. I told my mother that it was that afternoon, and Elisenda cancelled my Japanese class so I could go. :( At least we will have it after the holidays. ^_^
Near 7 o'clock, I changed my scuffed up trainers for my scuffed up black shoes, which I decided to clean. Since my clothes weren't very formal (just my normal clothes, heehee), all I can remember was that I was wearing my jeans, I wore my coat over it, just to hide it, and keep warm. At 7 o'clock I announced that I would be going to the inauguration now to get a nice place AT THE FRONT. Since my father was going out soon as well to go to a Christmas meal at work, my mother would be left at home, so I said she could come up too if she wanted too, that she would be invited to do so. It was  at 19:30. :D:D:D

I ran most of the way there, to get there as soon as possible. I got there, and immediately saw Enrique, so I said Hello, and asked how everything was going.
Enrique seemed quite chuffed, and said that someone had told him how all the main patio switches turned on which lights, and he took the trouble to explain them to me, and where they were hidden. ^_^It was quite interesting.

At half seven a load of people were in the main patio. This main patio is called the "column patio" in Spanish, because a load of cloumns surround a "dip" with a fountain in a middle. That is what we were surrounding, this "dip", following the square marked by the columns. At twenty to eight (¬¬') the headmaster FINALLY appeared (lol) and excused the lateness of the event (it's the same every year!) and gave a small speech about the Jornadas. Then the Indian Ambassador stepped forward and gave another speech and how pleased he was to see what a nice effort the school had made for the Indian Jornadas. Then the Seville Mayor (wow!) stepped forward, and gave a speech about Education. My ears were turned off when he finished.

All of a sudden, a spotlight illuminated a corner of the patio, where the people playing piano and cello were. Someone from my class (Fátima - anyone remember her from the past in my blog? hahaha) was there. :D
They played the Indian national anthem, as two people slowly pulled up the Spanish flag and the Indian flag (Awwww, lol).

Once they finished, a projector screen was pulled down, and a projector projected Indian images and quotes with Indian images. Finally.. It ended, and some people dressed up as Indians appeared (haha, so many things appearing), and explained they would be "dancing a dance in adoration of Shiva". They danced quite well actually, it was well done. ^_^ And it was AN INDIAN DANCE.

When they finished, they disappeared (they had to do a theatre afterwards) and the headmaster told us to gather INSIDE the patio around the fountain and to stay away from the columns. Indian music was put on, and slowly the main patio became the Taj Mahal. Nicely done! Though it was a bit of a crushing feeling, everyone in the middle with their heads up in the air like these birds whose names I can't remember. >.<

When finally it was a nearly vivid replica of the Taj Mahal, everyone filed out.
I found my mother, and told her the play was now, and asked her if she could accompany me to watch it. Then I went whizzing up the stairs to see it. Enrique found me, and said that you needed an Invitation to enter.
An Invitation... I didn't actually have one ON PAPER, but I had a little card with my name pinned onto my coat, with the Jornada de India motif which indicated I took part in an activity. No one asked for an invitation in the Salón de Actos, so I walked in, and caught up with my two other friends Carmen and Maite... I looked at the seats. There were name cards on them... I didn't suppose there would be one for me, but there were some seats WITHOUT name plates, which meant they were free, and unreserved. And there were three next to each other, on second row. We did not miss this opportunity, and sat there. Too bad there was an awfully tall person sitting in front of me. ¬¬'. Didn't matter much though, I could see most of the theatre anyway. It was really good, and really long, and really made me want to take part in it next year!

When the theatre, called Sakuntala (Shakuntalá in pronunciation), ended, we all went back downstairs, into another patio, and many tables covered in tapas and Indian food in small quantities were there. I went round each table having a good munch of cheese, and started nicking bits of Indian food. I don't think many people appreciated it much except me and Carmen, and we were ravenously running about for food. One of the foods was very spicy, and it was necessary to go and drinking water. It was really good for playing a joke on someone. Enrique tried one, and said to Maite:
"YUM! Eat one of these! They are really tasty! Go on! Try it! I really liked it! It is so tasty..."
*Maite eats one of these things*
"...and very spicy!"
*Maite pulls face* "I supposed there would be a trick to it, but its not spicy, ha!"
"Just wait" :D
*moments later*
"D'oh!! Water!!"

(...)

The following day, Wednesday, I spent the whole day explaining, and when I finished each one, some people from the crowd would give me a thumbs up. Some of them I knew, and others I didn't. That was quite... amazing...  Before I explain, there were people explaining some murals (which the audience found boring), and after me explaining there was a small play which ended with a splendid Pita Del song XD. Really funny. The headmaster came to watch us that day too, so we had to act our best, and luckily everything went well while he was there, and he said we had done very well (Yippee).

The following day I took some time to watch some other departments before going to explain Mandala workshop. I enjoyed Music, technology, cricket match, and then went to see science. Science was very interesting, but I didn't get a chance to see the Chemistry part, so the monolingual chemistry teacher, who knows me offered to show it to me only (:o), so I accepted - I did want to see it. ^_^  As he set some of the stuff up, the bilingual teacher (the one who is also my teacher) popped in to say: "Don't bring her to the dark side of science!"
They have a thing about one supports Chemistry, and the other Biology. LOL!

Later on, I explained Mandala workshop to very little kids, 1st and 2nd graders, because the groups supposedly coming, there was no one left in them! They were all already in some activity! :o Colouring mandalas is fun. =D

Friday morning I went rushing up to cricket, because the PE teacher said I could play cricket if someone hadn't come, and someone had said they didn't want to play, so I got changed just in case, but in the end they said they would play. :( I was a bit sad, since I was eager to play cricket (but had no idea of the proper rules, hahaha, but I knew who to bowl and bat supposedly...) so I sat and watched, and supported the Calcuta team, which was 2º ESO. We still lost to New Delhi though, 1º ESO. :(

Friday after-morning, I explained one mandala workshop, and then we had to tear those 55 paper chains off the ceiling. The German teacher counted all the pieces of paper in one chain, and I counted the total number of chains so we could figure out how many total pieces of paper were needed to make it all. It was roughly 5.050 pieces! It was fun to do Tarzan imitations to pull off the chains, and very fiddly to pick the bits off the wall.


And this should conclude a very brief (although it doesn't seem it!) explanation of what the Jornadas de India were like. :D Thanks for reading - if you did!