Granizo

So I thought the roar of the thunder was loud.... The hail woke Madrid at around 2am this morning. It was as if a dump truck was pouring gravel on the tile roofs. I temporarily forgot that my apartment isn't on the top floor--it sounded as though the hail was falling on my ceiling. The hailstones were the size of small marbles and I was concerned that my window would break. In other parts of the city the hail dented cars. My little fern on my window sill lost fronds and the trees in La Latina all had about two inches worth of chewed up leaves at their feet. Parts of the metro were closed this morning and the trains ran late. Half the school needed emergency coverage. My bus was a full 50 minutes late due to traffic caused by flooding from the rainstorm. You should have heard Paula, our bus monitor, shout into her cellphone explaining the situation in her customary howl. Madrid has hardly any soil to absorb the rainfall and so everything trickles, runs, and gushes along the slick granite sidewalks and paved roads.

Tonight I have a visitor. Laura is a cousin of a former coworker of mine and truly a kindred spirit. Already I've very much enjoyed sharing stories and insights with her. Her adventurous spirit will be a breath of fresh air after my long days at school.

Speaking of which, I had an awesome day today. I finally feel like I might be good at this job someday. Yesterday I seriously doubted that I'd ever enjoy or excel at teaching second grade. Today I had energy, wisdom, and authority. The kids love structure and I finally took the initiative to give them some more guidelines. What a relief! They are so cute, so earnest. They respond so well to positive feedback, it's a joy to help them learn.

Goodnight, my friends. It's time for me to sleep--may no sirens, hail, or thunder wake me.