Before we started class the other day, 1 of my favorite girls came up to Arancha, my co-teacher, and complained that she was bleeding. When we both took a look, we discovered a big wound on the back of her left hand. We thought it a strange place to get injured and questioned her about what happened.

She blushed a little and sheepishly confessed that she was playing a game and injured herself. Arancha seemed ready to accept this excuse, but something about it didn't seem right to me and so I questioned her further. "Tell me more about this game." She tensed up and after much silence, reluctantly revealed the nature of this so called "game." The game requires a person to recite the alphabet and something that begins with each letter while scratching the back of one's hand. We didn't quite understand the game (or maybe we didn't want to believe what we were hearing) and so the little girl decided to demonstrate. "A. A is for apple. B. B is for baby..." and while she recited each line she was clawing the skin off the back of her hand. Apparently the goal is to get to the end of the alphabet.

Jesus Christ.

"This is a game?! How? Why? What's the prize?" She just laughed and shrugged her shoulders. We questioned her even further and discovered about 6 other girls who bore the same scars. When asked to show us, they raised the backs of their hands with pride.

Arancha and I stared at all of them like they were aliens. The guys in the class just shook their heads and continued with their arts and crafts. Crazy doesn't even begin to describe....

Just a day in the life

I'm rushing to school in the morning, cold and upset that I'm even up so early when this random old woman stops me.

She starts to mumble and of course, I don't understand what the hell she's saying. Finally, I get that she wants a cigarette from me. "No dice, lady, I don't smoke." I think that's that and start to go about my way when surprise!  The lady turns out to be fucking insane.

Why does she reach out and try to caress my face after I tell her I have no cigarettes? She's not even saying a word, either. Her hands are just reaching out towards my face. Best believe I made like Neo in The Matrix.

See that? Yeah, I did it. We were both silent as we did that little dance: she reaching for my face and me bending every which way to avoid her hands.

Finally, I said "what are you doing?!" and just ran around her. I glanced at the people who happened to be around us and they had the most perfect blank faces. For a minute, I had to reassure myself that I was walking the streets of Spain and not NYC. Then I met my teacher and life went on.

Just a day in the life.

Lesson for today:

Never get a seat facing the person eating alone....especially when you're eating alone too.

Rookie move, Juliet. You should know that by now.

Talk about awkward.

"What did you say?!"

Today we were practicing names of places and shops in the city. I asked what things they could buy at the mall and the kids were throwing out all sorts of things.

One kid said “knickers,” but the way he prounounced it, it sounded like “niggers.”

My head snapped up so quickly. I said, “what?!” and the bass in my voice? It was somethin’ serious. I’ve never seen a child look so afraid. He whispered “knickers” again and then said “como ropa interior, no?” Everyone was looking at me like I had lost my mind. I had to play that off. Thank God there were only 10 mins left in the class.

I blame the British for teaching these kids these words. I mean, knickers? Knickers?

God.