Teaching in Torrejoncillo/Weekend Plans

Hi all!

So so sorrry it has been so long since I have posted on my blog.  I promise that I will try and get better!  Many people have been anxious to hear about how things have been going for me at the school in Torrejoncillo.  The school I am teaching at has students between the ages of 12 and 18.  It's kind of like a middle school and high school all together in one.  I teach all of the levels of English, so it has been a little difficult trying to juggle lesson planning and socializing.  This is my first "full" week, although I have been teaching for 3 weeks now.

The first and second week, I gave a 50 minute introduction about myself with pictures of where I live, my family, my pets, etc.  I was rudely awakened to the fact that the teachers here in Spain get very little respect.  I am in a bilingual English school, so many of the teachers are very, very good at speaking English.  I work with 3 different teachers: I have 6 classes with Carmen (the three lowest levels); 4 classes with Enci (the upper level classes); and 2 with Celes (also upper level classes, but one with kids who failed the previous course).  In my very first class with Enci, she was introducing me by saying "He is Kate.  He is here to help you learn English.  He is from Michigan."  I wanted so badly to correct her, however I did not want to correct her in front of all of her students because she is already the least respected teacher and one of my friends who was here last year working as an English Assistant said he tried correcting one of his teachers once, and she get very angry with him.  SO, I guess I'll just have to wait and see if she calls me a "He" outside of class.  Hmmm.

My classes with Carmen are going very well.  The other day she left me with the class for the full 50 minutes (which they are not supposed to leave us alone with the students at all!) and she went and got her blood taken.  Luckily, I had a fun lesson planned.  I chose 3 American songs (How Will I Know by Whitney Houston, Landslide by the Dixie Chicks, and What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong) and I gave them each the lyrics with some of the verbs blanked out.  They did a pretty good job, although sometimes it is really difficult for them to understand!  After doing all three songs, we still had 10 minutes left so I told them about my brother, Griff, and his group.  I played them the song Pictures, and they were very excited.  I think I will try and use some more examples of things that are more important to me, because that seems to excite and engage them a lot more so than a random activity.

This week I am giving a presentation on the American VS Spanish Education System (boring, I know!) and working out of the book about Social Networking.  I am trying to adjust quickly to my schedule, but it is VERY difficult.  Here in Spain, the teachers move from classroom to classroom instead of the students, so I have to memorize a different schedule for every day!  I have been absolutely exhausted, too, so by the time I get home from school for siesta I am ready to sleep for hours.  I get up around 6:30 or 7, some days I have to walk 30 minutes to where I meet the teachers; other days the teachers volunteer to meet me right outside my apartment.  And then we have about a 40 minute drive to Torrejoncillo, which when it's still dark out it is incredibly difficult for me to stay awake in the car!  I have fallen asleep multiple times while driving there.  However, the teachers told me that the assistant last year also fell asleep in the car.

 This weekend I am travelling by myself to Almería, which is in Southern Spain on the ocean!  My host sister, Maca, who I still haven't seen lives there and I am going to stay with her for the weekend.  I am very, very excited and I am so looking forward to Friday's arrival!  She said she wants to take me to hear someone sing, so that will be fun!  I am just looking forward to finally being able to spend some time with her after 2 1/2 years!

I'm off to do some more lesson planning.  I hope all is well for you all.  I miss you all!

Love and hugs,

Kate