Primera Semana de Clases

Tower Espantaperros in Badajoz

As you all hopefully remember, last week I had my first week of classes.  I work 3 hours a day, 4 days a week, at two different schools.  Honestly, I was a little nervous at first.  I don't know what Spanish classes are like, I don't know how the children act, or more specifically, I don't know how they act around a foreigner.  Now, I would say I have a really good grasp of the Spanish language.  It has improved significantly since I arrived here in Spain.  That being said, when people, or worse, children, start speaking at 1.6 kilometers per minute, I can't seguir el ritmo, or keep up.  That's my fear.  If kids say something, in Spanish, about me and I don't understand, I don't want them to think they can get away with anything.  And of course my professor can help, but they can't hear everything.

I can't say that after a week of teaching that I still don't fear that, but I don't worry as much.  I don't worry because this past week has been AMAZING.  Teaching is something that I've always felt natural doing.  I love standing in the center of the room.  I love explaining things in different ways for different people.  I especially love boards (of the chalk or white variety).  This job has given me just that.

"Always by your side" - Anonymous

I work at two schools.  One is in Publa de Obando, a pueblo 35 minutes away from Badajoz.  Compared to my city school, this one does not have nearly as many commodities.  The English teacher who I work with the most is incredible. She speaks English nearly perfectly and is a great teacher.  The other one at the school isn't so great.  Her accent is off and it doesn't appear that she knows a lot of vocab.  One of my first classes was with the latter and I kind of took over because a.) it was science and b.) it didn't seem like she knew what she was talking about.  As I stated above, I love teaching, so this did not really bother me.

The other thing about this school is that I teach kids in 2nd grade up until 6th grade.  The 2nd graders are terrible.  They talk all the time in Spanish.  A couple of them just laugh at me when I talk.  I imagine this is the same as when kids in the United States laugh at someone speaking a foreign language because it seems funny to them.  They do know their stuff though: we did flashcards of numbers and colors and I would say 90% got theirs right.

Me, out with my roommates (the three on the left)

Otherwise, the other grades are fine.  3rd grade has 4 kids in it with disabilities ranging from ADHD to Aspergers to extreme Autism.  Once the kids get settled, they are fine.  The older kids are just great though.  You can tell they want to learn English because they try really hard in class.  Today, they told me the date entirely in English without any prompts.  My teacher said that they have never done that before.

The other school is just the opposite.  Most of the teachers speak English really well.  I only teach 5th and 6th grade and they are extremely eager to learn English.  I don't teach as much as I do in the smaller school, but I do get to read stories or pronounce things.  The funniest thing is when I encounter a British word and I don't know what it is at first.  Fancy Dress is a costume.  Who knew?  I told them that it was cooler just to say costume.

Courtyard of the school in the pueblo

Overall, teaching has been a blast and the days go by so quickly.  The worst is when I have a free period because I don't know what to do with myself.  Preparing for class is easy and I don't mind going off the cuff.  Or I'll work with the teacher to see what they have prepared.  Now, I'm looking for another job to supplement this one.  I called an Academy today and I'm also offering one on one English classes to anyone that asks.  Vamos a ver if anything comes of it.  You will be the first ones to know.



Enjoy the pictures that have nothing to do with the blog!

¡Hasta luego!

Spanish Words of the Week:
colchón - mattress
murciélago - bat
carnet - license