My school has 3 year olds to 6th grade. It’s two buildings, each 2 stories high, with a big play area outside. There isn’t any playground equipment, just some soccer (futbol) goals and some balls to kick around. Every child seems to be fairly content, though. There are three gates into the school yard/area. All are metal gates with an intercom/lock system that you must press to get in & out unless it is at normal beginning and ending school hours.
My Tuesday’s are filled with science. I work with 2 6th grade classes and 2 5th grade classes. Each class does the exact same thing as the other so as not to put any class farther than the other. All classes stay in their classroom, but the teacher’s rotate rooms. Wednesday’s, I have two classes. One is an English class for 3rd grade and the other is a 1st grade science class. The 1st grade class is super cute; very excited to learn. I don’t want to show any preference for any one age group, but I sure like those little kids. J Those are the only days I’ve worked so far, so I’ll update the rest sometime. I should note that I work Monday-Thursday for a total of 12 hours. On Tuesday & Wednesday, Joanne and I were asked to lead an English Club from 4-5. We will each get paid an additional 100 euros a month. It is a voluntary thing, that from the sounds of it, is illegal. If the ministry of education finds out that we are doing this (& getting paid for it), then the school could get in trouble. That’s my understanding. They’re stressing to us not to be vocal about it when we go to our orientation meeting. Probably shouldn’t put it on here, then, huh? Oh well.
Ok… I’m going to go on to some notes I’ve made… again, this may be a bit disorganized, but I suppose if you don’t want to keep reading, you don’t have to! HaHa! J
I haven’t really addressed the person I am staying with. His name is Douglas. I may have mentioned that his wife is in Scotland, currently, looking for work. He pretty much sits in his den, watches rugby, or tans on the patio. He’s a really nice guy and is very helpful when needed. He really just stays outta our way, for the most part. We have a TV in our living room that has a set of English and a set of Spanish channels. Not a lot of options, but I’m not going to be picky. Nor am I going to be spending a large amount of time in front of a TV. J That’s not why I came, is it? Another side note, Douglas will be going back to Scotland in January leaving us the house on our own. SO!! Anyone that wants to visit, I will have spare bedrooms! And I have an extra bed in my room, too! So come on over!!! I’ll describe and post pics of the house at a later date.
As part of our rent, we are able to utilize his washing machine. I get to hang my clothes from a line, though, to dry! HaHa, it’s kinda fun. I was a little leery about hanging my undies out to dry, but eh.. Oh well.
The weather… The weather has been pretty perfect. A few times, it has been a bit warm, but NOTHING like that Kansas heat. Nights typically require a jacket for me. I miss my hoodie, though. I wasn’t able to fit one in my suitcase. I kinda wish I would have. Oh well!! I asked a bit about the winters. Douglas said it gets really cold, but NO snow! He says snow is very rare. And when it rains here, he says it’s a downpour! There’s no sprinkles or drizzles and the water just floods its way down the streets.
Speaking of the streets… the streets here look more like alleys. ALL of them. But somehow, they fit cars on them. I don’t know how & sometimes it terrifies me, but it’s the norm around here. The hills here are so steep in most places. I guess the good thing is that you have a lot of downhill’s, too. ?? I don’t know. I was walking with Joanne and her sister a few days ago, just exploring the village and we made our way down one hill that was a bit steep. I was just wearing flip flops and bit it pretty hardcore. I guess I should get used to that; I’m sure I’m going to fall 100 more times or more. I try to tread lightly, but man… sometimes, it just can’t be helped! HaHa!
In walking around the village at night, I try to be really observant of my surroundings and just watching the locals. At night, the square is filled with old men sitting on the benches and shooting the breeze. I haven’t taken pictures yet, but I will. My hope is that, by the end of this experience, I am able to sit with them and hear their stories. I imagine that have plenty of stories to tell. No women are there. And women don’t really join their husbands at the bars. The older couples are so cute! They walk hand in hand or arm in arm around the square. It’s super cute to watch, haha!
A final note for this entry, I thought I’d write about the actual language here. There is definitely a barrier, even with those that know English. Douglas said English didn’t even really come to this village until a few years ago, so we are definitely in a location that does not speak much English, if at all. It’s not nearly as easy as I thought it would be and I’m trying to stay positive and focused. I’m feel like I get better every day and some words come back to me as I go and I need them. In Spain, there are different dialects all over the country. I am in the Andalucia region, so I am exposed to a very thick accent. They drop the ‘s’ on everything. “Buenos dias” is “bueno dia.” It’s that way on every word. Another adjustment I am making is their ‘c’ and ‘s’ has no ‘c’ or ‘s’ sound, they are all ‘th’ sounds. “Gracias” sound like “Grathia.” I think I remember going to speech therapy when I was younger trying to get rid of my ‘th’ as an ‘s,’ and now I have to speak that way… haha! Weird. J People are very friendly here. You address everyone you pass on the street. Simply say, “Hola,” and they will reply, “Adio (adios).” You say hello, they say goodbye. J We definitely get stared at, but I think by now, it’s all over town that we are the new teachers. Things aren’t much different here in that aspect… it’s small enough that the whole town knows everything about everyone as soon as it happens. J
I want you all to know that I am safe. I feel very secure and I’m comfortable walking to the store or the library alone. I’m told crime doesn’t really exist here, that everyone is safe. Children run the streets in groups until ten or 11 at night without any parental supervision. It’s very laid back. I’m hoping that rubs off on me. I don’t feel any concern about my surroundings at all. So, do your best not to worry about me. I’m doing good and am in a safe place. J
This sign is posted at the entrance of the village. It's also a wall that, behind it, is the school I teach at.
This is the street I walk down & up daily to get to school. This is minor compared to the incline of some of them!! HaHa!
This picture is for my food loving friends. It's the Flamenquin I talked about in the last entry. Looks yummy, huh? It was!!
This is the 'street' that I live on. Looks like an alley, huh? Very tight space! I'm on the right a quarter of the way up; you can't really see it. I'll take more later. :)
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