Semana Santa in Valencia

Choices. Choices. Choices. I was very satisfied with my last minute decision to stay in Valencia for a few extra days during Semana Santa (Holy Week). I was scheduled to leave for Sevilla the day we finished classes, but rather impulsively decided to leave on Saturday morning instead! It was an excellent decision: I caught up on quite a bit of work, sleep*, and became acquainted with the local happenings during Holy Week. I was thrilled when one of my ESL students proposed to walk down to Cabanyal/Marvarosa Beach to check out the procession on Good Friday! Yes, this week’s conversation class with Juanvi constituted 2.5 hours of sauntering through the crowded streets near our lovely beach. 

I couldn’t believe that Juanvi has lived in Valencia his entire life and has never seen a Procession. It actually made me feel good that it was our first time witnessing this tradition together.

“Don’t worry, Adaliss. I know this looks like the KKK in America, yes? These are hermanidades/brotherhoods. Think of Fraternities in America. This is kind of like that. They are Religious Fraternities determined by the zone you live in. All who are affiliated must wear these hats as a tradition dating back to the Medieval Ages. Again, no worries.”
-nThanks, Juanvi!

Easter in Valencia is bursting of processions featuring floats portraying the Passion with statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.

 “Don’t worry, Adaliss. I know this 

looks like the 

KKK in 

America, yes? 

In Valencia the processions take place in the barrios of Cabanyal, Cabanyemelar and Grau (adjacent the beach). Here is where the locals and visitors enjoy the “romerias”, or (processions, through out Semana Santa.

The first day of Semana Santa (Holy Week) is el Domingo de Ramos, or Palm Sunday, which is the day processions begin. Then, Procesión del Silencio, or The Procession of Silence, is held on Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday). Lastly, Santo Entierro, or Holy Burial, is held on Viernes Santo (Holy Friday).

Some men are barefoot, wearing chains,
which signifies the suffering of Christ.

That floats are typically carried by men sporting hoods and long robes. These are followed by penitents dressed in pointed hoods and capes.

I love working with Juanvi. It’s such a great opportunity to reflect on the past week at work! I’m not ashamed to say that I love talking about the kids. Naturally, this takes up most of my ‘sharing’ time.

A little Give and Take at El Barranquet: Sharing a bit of Culture at el Cole

Preparing class materials and activities for the weeks was quite entertaining and time consuming, the former applying more to the girls (Norita, Marg and Chelsea) who were forced to witness my attempts at formulating an appealing Easter Song for my first graders. Hey, why not? Rationale: All for the kids, right?

Making "La Mona" with Pre-K and Kindergarden!

On Easter day in Spain, the locals have a traditional Easter cake, “La mona de Pascua”, which dates back to the 15th century.

Originally it was a small round pastry or cake, which was topped with hard boiled eggs (which is what we did at your school, more or less!) but today they are more sophisticated and there are quite a few variations of the pastry.

Making Easter Bunnies with
my 1st and 2nd  graders!
You got your multicolored bunnies, your
collage-ified bunnies

Look at them go!

Organizing the (5th and 6th grade) kids’ first Easter Egg Hunt was a two week process and very much worth it! Of course, I would have tweaked (quite) a few things*, but overall it went well, thanks in great part to 5th and 6th grade teachers, Patro and Josep.

Explicit academic instruction's never a bad thing, especially on a warm and sunny April day!

*Academic instruction: communicating clearer instructions and expectations, all that good stuff that comes with practice.

Teresa, the Pirate, reading to Kindergarten

Meanwhile (well through out the year, really), I’ve been learning quite a bit from the head of the ESL department (mi jefa, Teresa) both indirectly and directly. Despite our marked differences in preferred teaching styles– “Teachers-knows-all”/formal authority/“sage on the stage” versus (what I believe to be a more) more student-centered learning (sometimes referred to as the “Facilitator” teaching style) with a bit of “Demonstrator/Personal Model” approach– I very much respect Teresa. I appreciate how Teresa takes the time (instructional time, that is) to teach her classes about really interesting historical facts, the origins of specific words and myths, misconceptions, what have you.

Outside of class, Teresa (who will be retiring at the end of the year after over 30 years in education) indulges in every opportunity to share with me what she perceives to be profound life lessons that educators learn only from experience. I've translated and paraphrased a few that come to mind.

 - [Every second of class time, you have X number of TVs watching you, observing and internalizing every single thing you do. However, you must recognize that whilst they watch you (your TV program) you are also watching each individual TV program (TV programs that give a CLEAR PICTURE of what home is like, what they do in their spare time, their self efficacy, their beliefs, etc.)] 

What I’ve gathered here: We really need to take the time to develop and maintain relationships (CONNECT) with our students to understand where each are coming from. This is the only way to really maximize students’ learning potential (given your curriculum and instructional delivery is on point]  

- [You really have to expect the unexpected in education. You may think you have constructed one of the most beautiful lessons for your class and last minute something comes up/something goes horribly wrong. ALWAYS have a back up plan and constantly surmise possible problems and solutions to those problems. You must always be prepared. You’ll find that you decrease your stress levels and maximize student learning this way]  

- [Don’t EVER forget that as educators we are constantly learning] which reminds me of Mom’s belief in the importance of being a lifelong learner

Next stop: Finishing Semana Santa in Andalucia la Maravilla!