Greetings everyone! Well, after some persistent pleas from people (cough
cough Manuel and Dad cough cough) I’ve decided to get back on the blog horse
and try to get up to date. I think the
easiest thing to do will be to write the most recent stuff while it’s fresh my
mind, and then I’ll back track and catch up on the rest from last year.
First, for those of you who don’t know, this year I am teaching in
another school (actually two schools) in another town about two hours away from
Sevilla. At first I was pretty crushed by the news, but now I couldn’t be
happier. Yes, going back and forth
between Don Benito and Sevilla is a hassle, but I really like the town and I
like my schools. I’m working with some
great teachers and really nice groups of students so I’m really loving my job.
Some weekends we spend in Don Benito and some we spend in Sevilla, and so far
it’s going fine.
One challenge of this school year is that I’m working in two different
schools. Mondays and Wednesdays I go to one and Tuesdays and Thursdays I go to
the other. In one school, I have a lot
of fun and really enjoy my day, and in the other I’m bored out of my mind and
feel like I shouldn’t even be there! The
school that I go to on Mondays and Wednesdays has a really good grasp on the bilingual
program even though it’s new to them.
When I go to the classes there, I teach the classes. The teachers and I plan things together. They
let me know in advance what we’re studying and what I need to prepare. They
appreciate my work and they ask me questions that they have about English vocabulary
and grammar. In the other school, it’s the complete opposite. Sometimes I show up to class and the teacher
decides that he’s behind so he has to use that time to teach Spanish. Ok…great.
So what am I supposed to do? They just don’t take advantage of the fact that
I’m there and I have a lot of experience teaching now. Another one of the
teachers I work with is skype chatting and text message during the whole class.
Maybe a little unprofessional. The good thing though, is that I do like my
coworkers as people and I love the students, I just don’t really do anything.
The town of Don Benito is really nice. In terms of area, it’s pretty
small but the population is about the same as Lombard, so I’m not in some lost
rural one-horse town. It’s well connected by trains and buses and it’s got all
the main clothing stores and supermarkets so shopping is definitely not an
issue. I also like being able to walk everywhere. Nothing is more than 25 minutes walking from
my apartment so it’s really nice. Something that’s much different from the last
two years is that now I’m living in the same town that I’m working so now I see
my coworkers, students, and parents of students in the street all the time. Sometimes
I feel like a bit of a celebrity walking around.
Some funny things that have happened so far…During my first days of
class the teachers had the kids put little signs with their names so I could
learn them all. In one of the sixth grade classes, one of the boys wrote that
his name was “Amador” which means “lover” and subsequently asked for my phone
number. The little troublemaker's name is actually Mario and goes out of his
way every day to smile and say hi to me.
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| Thanksgiving at school |
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| Halloween decorations EVERYWHERE! |
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| Santa makes an appearance in December! |
Another thing I’ve realized is how difficult the pronunciation of
English really is. For us it’s natural
because we’ve been speaking it all our lives. But try explaining to someone why
though, through, tough are pronounced completely differently even though they
all end in ough. In one of my private classes we had a fun little pronunciation
snafu that I think you all will enjoy.
During the months of October, November, and December I was giving
private classes twice a week with one of my sixth graders from school named
Mario (no, not Mario “the lover” but another one) and his mom. They were moving to Australia at the end of
the semester and wanted a crash course before taking the plunge into living in
an English speaking country. My
student’s dad got a job in Brisbane and had been living there a couple months,
and they were going to move there after Mario finished the first semester of
school. They were really fun to have
class with and treated me like part of their family. One day Mario the sixth grader was offering
me things to drink and he asked if I wanted a Coca Cola. His mom said to him, Mario, say it how they
say it in English. So Mario, obliging his mom, said clear as day “Do you want a
cock?” Now I’m used to hearing bizarre pronunciations of words all the time, so
I have a great poker face. I felt my
cheeks blush a little bit, but I calmly explained to him that the letter o in
Coke sounds like “ooouuuu” (Our long o sound is very similar to the vowel sound
made in Spanish by the combination “ou.” Then his mom indiscreetly asked, so
what did he just say? With my best goody-two-shoes look I gave her a couple of
examples of Spanish slang words for penis and the three of us had a pretty good
laugh.
In recent news Manuel and his mom decided to give me a really special
Christmas present this year, and I’m going to have a “traje de gitana”
specially made for me. What the heck is that? Well it’s the traditional type of
dress that all the Spanish girls wear during the Feria de Abril in Sevilla.
That’s the week long flamenco festival that’s held every spring. If you haven’t
seen pictures yet, this is how I’ve dressed the last two years for Feria.
The green, white and blue dress
is one that I bought second hand and the denim and red one was loaned to me by
the principal at my old school. Both
were a lot of fun to wear, but I’m so excited to have a dress specially made
for me! Here are some pictures of my
first fitting. It doesn’t look like much
yet, but when it’s finished I know it’s going to look great!
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| Manuel's friend Dani, who's making me the dress, pinning me up! |
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| Definitely liking the view from behind! |
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| The other color/fabric that will be part of my dress |
