Observations

My whole world seems to be about observations right now. All week long we've been observing classes and having to write up reports...only the reports aren't due until tomorrow so of course I'm spending my evening typing mine up. I'm only one behind, but these things take a lot of time. You have to write up, in detail, each stage of the lesson, of which there are 4-6: what the students were doing, what the teacher did, why, a reflection on the effectiveness of the techniques employed in that stage. And then you have to do an overall summary and say whether you think the learning objectives for the lesson were met, why you think so, and what you might have done differently. Perhaps it wouldn't be so time-consuming if I didn't try to jot down every little gesture or reaction...and of course if I weren't so opinionated. I'm having to take breaks to stay sane(ish).

Other observations:
-In general, Spanish men are shorter than American men. I've noticed this on the street and in bars/restaurants...and I noticed it just now when the next door neighbor knocked on the door looking for one of my roommates. (I also happened to notice, because he wasn't wearing a shirt, that the next door neighbor has an incredible chest. Joder, tio!)
-There are quite a few madrilenos with small dogs that follow them, leashless, around the city. These dogs are well-behaved: they don't stray away from their owners, not even to say hello to other dogs. The only dogs I've seen barking or snapping at other dogs have all been on leashes. There was one guy who came into the patisserie this morning where I was having my coffee whose dog, without having to be told, stopped just outside the entrance to the patisserie and sat, waiting patiently, until his owner came out and then got right up and trotted after him. Absolutely amazing. I have no idea how they get them trained like that.
-Also at the patisserie this morning, the OK GO song "Invincible" suddenly came on. It's one of my favorite songs by that group...one of my favorite songs ever, actually...and it just seemed so weird to have it pop up out of nowhere to bless my morning. Gotta love it.