There isn't too much to report on the work front. I feel more and more like a part of the school community every day, which makes the little time I actually spend at work a lot more enjoyable. I love going into the teacher's lounge during the 30-minute recreo period every morning, getting a cafe con leche, and sitting with the other teachers. I haven't quite worked up the confidence to join in on their conversations but I'm sure I will get there eventually. I have developed strong relationships with all of the teachers that I am working with and am slowly but surely getting accustomed to the fast, oftentimes hard-to-understand Andalusian Spanish that they speak. My only complaint is that I don't get to spend enough time in the classroom with the students. They seem like really great kids (or, in some cases, 40-year-old men) and most of them are remarkably eager to improve their English.
I have now completed 3 private English classes with Paco, Isabel, and Raquel. Those sessions (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 in the evening) are quickly becoming the highlight of my week. After working with high school electronics students during the day, it's fun to spend some time with younger students and teach them about things I actually know. Even though it's challenging, I love coming up with lessons for them. The first two days we focused on the ABC's, which is proving to be much more difficult than I imagined it would be. During the second session, I tried to incorporate Halloween into the lesson to make things a little more interesting and to share some American culture with them. Unfortunately, I think I was a little more excited about that idea than they were. Thursday we transitioned from the alphabet to numbers, which they caught on to a lot faster. Paco and Isabel could already count to 12 in English but Raquel couldn't. However, after some one-on-one work, she got it down and could do it without any problems. I felt a great sense of accomplishment in having successfully taught her something. It's nice to feel like you're actually giving their parents their money's worth.
While success in teaching English makes my twice-weekly trips to Montequinto satisfying, I think that my favorite part of the whole experience is building relationships with the kids. I love that they don't want me to leave when our hour is over and that they are enjoying having me around. Thursday, when I was waiting for all of the parents to arrive to pay me, it made me beyond happy when Paco asked me to play soccer with him. We had the best time kicking the ball back and forth and trying to score on one another. Moments like that are worth so much more than the money I get for my services.
Other than work and giving private lessons, I have managed to stay busy and get out of the house quite a bit. I am thrilled to have made so many great new friends who are sharing in the experience of living in Spain and who are just as ready as I am to experience everything that Sevilla has to offer. While most of my friends are American, I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know a few Spaniards. Not hanging out with Spanish people was one thing that I regretted about my study abroad experience and I am finding that doing so from time to time is great for my language skills.
This weekend has been great, in large part because today (Monday) is a national holiday in honor of All Saint's Day. Friday night I finally went to a flamenco show at La Carboneria, one of the most well known venues in town, with two of my friends from the CIEE program and some of their out of town visitors. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Los Coloniales, one of my favorite restaurants here, and then ended up going to a discoteca, which never ceases to provide a good time. Saturday's weather was pretty dismal by Sevilla standards (chilly and rainy) so I didn't get out too much. I did, however, go over to the same friends' apartment for dinner. They cooked chicken fajitas (a delicious diversion from my typical diet of sandwiches and tortilla española) and it was nice to have a laid back evening after two consecutive nights out. Last night for Halloween I went over to a friend's apartment for a party, which was a ton of fun. There was a good mix of Spaniards and Americans, as well as a few Brits, and it was fun to see the Europeans all decked out in scary costumes. I guess people of any nationality will take any excuse to have a good time!
After such a great weekend it will definitely be hard to go back to work tomorrow. The good news is that we went off daylight savings this weekend, so it won't be quite so dark when I leave for school in the morning. My long awaited trip to Viterbo to visit Alice is finally here and I leave Friday night for 3 days in Italy. I have a lot to get done between now and then, though, including my second appointment at the Oficina de Extranjeros. Luckily I finally received my Sevici card in the mail, so getting around will be a lot more efficient. Anyways, that's about all the news from here. I will update again soon, hopefully before I leave for the weekend. If not, be on the lookout for a post on my visit to Italy and lots of pictures at the beginning of next week. Hasta pronto...
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