Although I've only actually spent 4 days at the school, I can already tell that the best part of my job is getting to work with such a great group of teachers. The four that I work with on a daily basis--Ceferino, Javier, Ricardo, and Cristobol--couldn't be nicer or more patient and have gone above and beyond the call of duty in making me feel welcome. Every day from 11:15-11:45 the entire school has a break, called recreo, when the students go outside to socialize and eat their morning snacks. During that break, those teachers who aren't overseeing the recreo gather in the teacher's lounge to tomar un café and catch up with one another. On Monday, my first day, I I went off campus by myself in search of coffee and got back to the school mid-recreo. Locked out of the department office, I decided to sit in the hallway and wait for the next class period to begin. When Javier found me sitting by myself, he was totally shocked and insisted that from then on I spend the break with the others teachers in the lounge. Thursday was by far my best day yet in terms of feeling like a part of the school culture. Javier bought me a café con leche and I sat and then I sat and talked with Ceferino about where he has traveled and where he wants to go in the future. Experiences like that seem insignificant at the time but are invaluable in terms of not only improving my conversational Spanish but also in bonding with my co-workers. I feel like a little kid again but I think recess just became my favorite period of the day!
In terms of actually fulfilling my duties, I am slowly figuring out what I am expected to do and how best to go about doing it. In my one-on-one sessions with the 4 teachers I mentioned above, I either help translate course materials from Spanish to English or review English grammar and vocabulary. The translation is proving to be difficult because it deals with telecommunications and information technology--things I don't know the first thing about in either English or Spanish! The English teaching part is also challenging, but manageable. On Thursday, Ricardo asked me to review all of the verb tenses we use in English. I really had to rack my brain but seemed to do an okay job! My session Javier went a lot smoother and was very enjoyable. I had printed out a travel article about Nashville, which he read outloud and then translated. More than anything I enjoyed sharing about my hometown and the culture I come from. He really surprised me, in a good way, with his level of English and seemed to enjoy learning about where I come from. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate similar activities into my future sessions with Javier and the other teachers.
I'm still trying to ascertain what my role in the classroom is. Thursday was the first day that I spent an entire period with the students in class, as my first few days the teachers simply introduced me and had the students ask me questions. Thus, Thursday's class period with Cristobal and the second year bachillerato students was a trial run. Basically, I just read some terms out loud in English and then observed the rest of the lecture, which was carried out half in Cristobal's feeble attempt at English and half in Spanish. I can only imagine that the situation will improve with time as both the teachers and I figure out how my abilities can best be used.
During my time at the school this week, I also had the opportunity to meet the teachers of the English department, who, like everyone else at I.E.S. Torre de los Herberos, are incredibly nice. I have to say that I kind of wish I was working primarily with them instead of with the technology department... but that's neither here nor there. I am, however, going to look into possibly sitting in on some of their classes, either on Fridays (when I technically don't work) or on Mondays (when I have about 2.5 hours of free time). I'm really curious to see how English is taught here and also how the students respond. It would be great if I could contribute a little to the classes but honestly I'd just be happy to be a bystander. I figure that any experience I have here in Spain will only add to what I get out of this year.
Apart from work and commuting, I haven't had the time or energy to do much else this week. Most days I come home from work, eat lunch, and then take a siesta before going to the gym. On Tuesday, I did choose to walk home from the train station rather than taking the bus and happened upon a really cool open-air market (I guess I would compare it to a farmer's market) on Feria, a main street really close to my house. I have always loved markets like that, both for shopping and just perusing. One of the coolest things I did last time I was in Europe was spend some time in the Boqueria market in Barcelona. You really can learn so much about a culture from visiting a local marketplace. Even though the market on Feria doesn't come close to the Boqueria, I still enjoyed walking through it and definitely plan on making it a regular part of my routine. I bought some delicious peaches and tomatoes there and plan to go back soon as I try to learn how to cook!
That's about all the news from here. I have no idea what I'll do this weekend but I'm sure whatever I end up getting into will be lots of fun. I hope that everyone back in the States has a wonderful weekend! Hasta pronto...
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