Yesterday I was in one of the second grade classes and they were learning about weather. The teacher shows them flashcards of a certain type of weather and they have to say what it is like raining, snowing, windy, etc. After the weather flashcards the English teacher pulls out other flashcards with different pictures of a coat, umbrella, etc. When the students don't know the answer I say what the word is out loud so they can hear the pronunciation of it. She shows a card and at first I wasn't sure if it was socks or rain boots so I look at the back of the card and it says "wellies." My response: "Wellies? What are wellies?" Her response: Shrug. It wasn't until when I saw in their book the lion wearing the "wellies" and it was splashing in water that I realized it was the word for rain boots.
They learn the British English here so rubbers are erasers, school bag is backpack, mum is mom, granny and grandad are grandma and grandpa, and the letter Z is pronounced like the word said. Let's not forget the grammar! They say "have you got" instead of "do you have" and it always makes me inwardly cringe while I'm thinking no, no, no, you have it all wrong! That's improper grammar! It's not as if I can interrupte and say "oh, excuse me, but that's not what we say where I live". Sometimes I wish the English teacher would ask what we call things such as with the wellies incident, but she doesn't. I guess it's all something I will have to live with!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
More about what I do
Here's some more info on what exactly I do. My official title is a language and cultural assistant, so not only am I supposed to help teach the kids English, but also about U.S. culture. I only work three days a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9-2 and there's a half an hour break during that time period from 11:45-12:15. I work with the English teacher and the grades at the school are 1-6, although she only works with 2-6. Most of the grades have two classes except for 1, 3, and 4 so I am with each class one time throughout the week. I basically come up with anything I want to talk about with the class and do a short lesson with some activities. The program at my school isn't very structured which makes it somewhat hard, but it gives me more freedom to do what I want to. I plan a lesson for each week since I have the different classes all throughout the week while I'm there. So far I've talked about where I'm from, my family, likes, dislikes, etc., Halloween, and this past week with the older students I talked about the different types of schools in the U.S. and then asked them questions to go along with it. With the younger students I reviewed the ABCs and in a Highlights magazine that I brought over with me there was a drawing activity where you use letters to make animals. For example, you used an S to make a swan, X's and O's to make a spider, etc. Next week I'm going to talk about the human body and the following week about Thanksgiving.
The exception to all this is the 1st grade class. I work with them four different times during the week and it's with their teacher. Instead of working in the class with them I have four different students each time I'm in there and we go to a separate room where I teach them English. Since they are only five to seven I have to explain things in Spanish, but I make sure to say it in English also. I like working with them by myself and in smaller groups because it's easier for them to focus and for me to teach them. Plus I get to teach them what I want. We've reviewed colors, numbers (although they only know to 12, but that will change!) and this week I went over the ABCs. My mom sent me a great color-by-numbers coloring book and it had letters in there so it was great for this week since it focused on the alphabet, numbers, and colors. Of course it's difficult for them to remember all the letters at this age, but I was pretty impressed with how many some of them could remember! I wrote their names on the board and had them tell me each letter in English and one boy, Francisco, knew them all except S! I had found Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on youtube and today I showed the one class the story and they all liked it.
I also have bilingual classes with three of the teachers. One is with the English teacher and the other two are with teachers who are in the level two at the language school (there's three levels). In the past I've printed out articles and we've read them, talked about them, and then I've asked questions about them and different topics in general. Next week though I'm going to have them watch the first few minutes of The Office from the pilot so we can talk about what an office setting is like. I have questions prepared about the objects, clothing, and comprehension questions. I need to do some more research, but after that I think I'll do a mock interview with them, but we'll see how that goes!
I'd talk about my kids and their behavior, but that's a whole other post!
The exception to all this is the 1st grade class. I work with them four different times during the week and it's with their teacher. Instead of working in the class with them I have four different students each time I'm in there and we go to a separate room where I teach them English. Since they are only five to seven I have to explain things in Spanish, but I make sure to say it in English also. I like working with them by myself and in smaller groups because it's easier for them to focus and for me to teach them. Plus I get to teach them what I want. We've reviewed colors, numbers (although they only know to 12, but that will change!) and this week I went over the ABCs. My mom sent me a great color-by-numbers coloring book and it had letters in there so it was great for this week since it focused on the alphabet, numbers, and colors. Of course it's difficult for them to remember all the letters at this age, but I was pretty impressed with how many some of them could remember! I wrote their names on the board and had them tell me each letter in English and one boy, Francisco, knew them all except S! I had found Chicka Chicka Boom Boom on youtube and today I showed the one class the story and they all liked it.
I also have bilingual classes with three of the teachers. One is with the English teacher and the other two are with teachers who are in the level two at the language school (there's three levels). In the past I've printed out articles and we've read them, talked about them, and then I've asked questions about them and different topics in general. Next week though I'm going to have them watch the first few minutes of The Office from the pilot so we can talk about what an office setting is like. I have questions prepared about the objects, clothing, and comprehension questions. I need to do some more research, but after that I think I'll do a mock interview with them, but we'll see how that goes!
I'd talk about my kids and their behavior, but that's a whole other post!
Here are two activities I did with the first grade class at Halloweek. The first was a matching game with different Halloween words and for the second one I had them draw the eyes, nose, and mouth of the vampire since we had talked about some of the body parts the week before.
Monday, November 8, 2010
FIFA World Cup
Okay, so I realize the World Cup (also known to Jill, Jackie, and I as FIFA Fever), happened over the summer, but I have to make a comment about it and futbol, or soccer as we know it, in general. First off, the World Cup is basically the World Series, the Superbowl, the Wimbeldon, etc. etc., of soccer and it only occurs every four years, a fact I didn't know about until later. It's a month long event, another fact I didn't realize, of soccer matches between countries all around the world and this past year it was held in South Africa. Europe is a huge soccer continent and Jill, Jackie, and I were fortunate to be in Europe throughout most of it (of course we missed the final two matches for the main title and second place!). I remember we were in Lucerne, Switzerland when it began because there were banners on all the bars and restaurants along the river. We weren't super into it at first, but along our trip we kept hearing FIFA this and matches would be on in the hostels. It was pretty unavoidable and there were several times that we found ourselves watching a match such as in Berlin at the biergarten, numerous hostels, the crazy Brazilians in Amsterdam and who can forget when we were in Prague at the Old Town Square with the vagabond dance-off! Need I say more? Spain ended up winning when we got back to Minnesota (how about those Spainards!) and I never gave too much thought to it after that until recently.
The one Friday I went with my roommate, who is a secretary at a girl's youth club, and in one of the activity classes they were dancing to this song called Waka Waka. Apparently it was the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and I was pretty impressed that these eight and nine year old girls knew this whole dance. It wasn't until I kept hearing the song and went on the excursion with them where even more girls were dancing and singing to it that I realized how huge this song is over here which made me think even more about the World Cup. It was exciting being in Europe where all these people and different countries are huge devoted fans and it's something else to see how united and emotional everyone is about it.
When I first came to my school I had students ask me who my favorite team was, Real Madrid or FC Barca, the two most popular teams in Spain, the first being based in Madrid and the latter in Barcelona. I told them I didn't have a favorite and that I liked American football to which they shouted 'Rugby!' Not quite. One particular student pulled out a map and was asking me all these questions ('Do you know anyone famous?' The answer was no which was met by disappointment), and one asked me if I had met Cristiano Ronaldo and had his autograph. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous soccer players in Spain and he plays for Real Madrid. He's actually Portuguese and I replied no to those questions too.
I'm not a huge soccer fan, but I have to say watching the World Cup was pretty exciting and intense! I never really wanted to see a game here in Spain, but who knows, maybe if I ever have the opportunity I just might go to one! Below I've attached the music video for Waka Waka by Shakira so everyone can see the dance. It's also really cool seeing everything from the World Cup!
The one Friday I went with my roommate, who is a secretary at a girl's youth club, and in one of the activity classes they were dancing to this song called Waka Waka. Apparently it was the theme song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and I was pretty impressed that these eight and nine year old girls knew this whole dance. It wasn't until I kept hearing the song and went on the excursion with them where even more girls were dancing and singing to it that I realized how huge this song is over here which made me think even more about the World Cup. It was exciting being in Europe where all these people and different countries are huge devoted fans and it's something else to see how united and emotional everyone is about it.
When I first came to my school I had students ask me who my favorite team was, Real Madrid or FC Barca, the two most popular teams in Spain, the first being based in Madrid and the latter in Barcelona. I told them I didn't have a favorite and that I liked American football to which they shouted 'Rugby!' Not quite. One particular student pulled out a map and was asking me all these questions ('Do you know anyone famous?' The answer was no which was met by disappointment), and one asked me if I had met Cristiano Ronaldo and had his autograph. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous soccer players in Spain and he plays for Real Madrid. He's actually Portuguese and I replied no to those questions too.
I'm not a huge soccer fan, but I have to say watching the World Cup was pretty exciting and intense! I never really wanted to see a game here in Spain, but who knows, maybe if I ever have the opportunity I just might go to one! Below I've attached the music video for Waka Waka by Shakira so everyone can see the dance. It's also really cool seeing everything from the World Cup!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Finally a post!
It's been a while since I have posted something, but that's not my fault! I didn't have internet at my flat so I had to connect to random networks using my ipod or go to an internet cafe where I had to do other things such as prepare activities for work. Now I have internet so I will be able to update more frequently!
My roommate is a secretary at youth club for girls and the one weekend there was an excursion some of them could go to at a nearby national park. I went along with them as a "monitor" and we hiked some trails while later on all of the girls kept complaining how tired they were and how they were so hungry. After lunch we went to this so-called cave where they had Neolithic cave drawings. It wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounds because the cave was basically a big rock outside and you could barely see the drawings on the cave.
This past weekend I went to Valencia with a friend who is in the same program as me, but lives in Catalunya, the northern part of Spain that borders France and the Mediterranean. Her program is so different than mine because once we get accepted our regions are in charge of the different details. She has to give two presentations later on in the year about her role in the program and she had to have all this paperwork in by a certain time so she could get paid. She also has to attend two more orientations about what they can do to improve in the classroom. We have to do none of the above! She also has a time set apart where she talks with the teacher she is working with on what activities she can do so it goes along with what the students are learning. I basically come up with something and ask the teacher if it's okay if the next week I do this or that and she says yes. I try to do it based off a theme like the one week it was Halloween and next week I'm going to talk about schools in the U.S.
Valencia is a great city though! I was fortunate to stay in a hostel located in the city center so I could walk to most of the major sights like the Cathedral, a neat ceramic museum where the inside really looked like a palace, etc. Valencia is famous for paella, a rice and vegetable dish mixed with fish, but we didn't eat that because neither of us really liked what was in it. They're also famous for their oranges and the one morning at breakfast I had orange juice and it was the freshest orange juice I've ever had. I also found a cafe where most of the menu items are chocolate, my favorite, so my friend and I split churros that you dipped in chocolate. Right next to my hostel there was a cupcake store called Cupcake Valencia that had a bunch of different varieties of cupcakes. Yum!
There is this really cool part of the city called the Arts and Sciences center where it is a bunch of different buildings, but the architecture of the buildings is what makes it really neat! They have a science museum there, a place where sporting events are being held like right now there was a professional tennis championship going on, an aquarium, and an IMAX theatre. We went to the aquarium on Saturday and I knew it was one of the biggest in the world, but I expected it to be like Newport Aquarium where it was just one really big building, but it wasn't. It was a bunch of different buildings divided into different places like Arctic, Temperate, Tropical, etc. and you had to walk outside to get to the different ones. We were lucky enough to be there when there was a dolphin show which was very cool to see! On Monday after my friend had to catch her train I went back to the IMAX, called L' Hemisferic, and saw a show on Arabia. I tried to watch it in English in first just because I wanted to be sure I could understand it, but we had to wear these weird headsets that went completely around your head and it had a microphone in it. There was a button you pushed to change the language, but when I pushed it, it only stayed on Spanish so I watched it in Spanish. Luckily I understood most of it except for a few sentences here and there so I felt very proud of myself! Also on Monday Sarah and I went to the beach. I thought there might have been a boardwalk area, but there wasn't, only a couple of restaurants. It was cool when we went, in the 60s, but there were still people there in bathing suits!
My roommate is a secretary at youth club for girls and the one weekend there was an excursion some of them could go to at a nearby national park. I went along with them as a "monitor" and we hiked some trails while later on all of the girls kept complaining how tired they were and how they were so hungry. After lunch we went to this so-called cave where they had Neolithic cave drawings. It wasn't nearly as exciting as it sounds because the cave was basically a big rock outside and you could barely see the drawings on the cave.
This past weekend I went to Valencia with a friend who is in the same program as me, but lives in Catalunya, the northern part of Spain that borders France and the Mediterranean. Her program is so different than mine because once we get accepted our regions are in charge of the different details. She has to give two presentations later on in the year about her role in the program and she had to have all this paperwork in by a certain time so she could get paid. She also has to attend two more orientations about what they can do to improve in the classroom. We have to do none of the above! She also has a time set apart where she talks with the teacher she is working with on what activities she can do so it goes along with what the students are learning. I basically come up with something and ask the teacher if it's okay if the next week I do this or that and she says yes. I try to do it based off a theme like the one week it was Halloween and next week I'm going to talk about schools in the U.S.
Valencia is a great city though! I was fortunate to stay in a hostel located in the city center so I could walk to most of the major sights like the Cathedral, a neat ceramic museum where the inside really looked like a palace, etc. Valencia is famous for paella, a rice and vegetable dish mixed with fish, but we didn't eat that because neither of us really liked what was in it. They're also famous for their oranges and the one morning at breakfast I had orange juice and it was the freshest orange juice I've ever had. I also found a cafe where most of the menu items are chocolate, my favorite, so my friend and I split churros that you dipped in chocolate. Right next to my hostel there was a cupcake store called Cupcake Valencia that had a bunch of different varieties of cupcakes. Yum!
There is this really cool part of the city called the Arts and Sciences center where it is a bunch of different buildings, but the architecture of the buildings is what makes it really neat! They have a science museum there, a place where sporting events are being held like right now there was a professional tennis championship going on, an aquarium, and an IMAX theatre. We went to the aquarium on Saturday and I knew it was one of the biggest in the world, but I expected it to be like Newport Aquarium where it was just one really big building, but it wasn't. It was a bunch of different buildings divided into different places like Arctic, Temperate, Tropical, etc. and you had to walk outside to get to the different ones. We were lucky enough to be there when there was a dolphin show which was very cool to see! On Monday after my friend had to catch her train I went back to the IMAX, called L' Hemisferic, and saw a show on Arabia. I tried to watch it in English in first just because I wanted to be sure I could understand it, but we had to wear these weird headsets that went completely around your head and it had a microphone in it. There was a button you pushed to change the language, but when I pushed it, it only stayed on Spanish so I watched it in Spanish. Luckily I understood most of it except for a few sentences here and there so I felt very proud of myself! Also on Monday Sarah and I went to the beach. I thought there might have been a boardwalk area, but there wasn't, only a couple of restaurants. It was cool when we went, in the 60s, but there were still people there in bathing suits!
Me at the Arts and Sciences area in Valencia
This week was a pretty good week so far! I received a package from home that we were worried about reaching here because on facebook under the auxiliares group there were a few girls saying they had packages sent from home, but they were stuck in Madrid and they either had to go to Madrid to get them or pay a large amount of money to get it to them. Luckily my package came and I was so excited! I was surprised to find Lost Season 6 in there (yayyy!!!!!) which made me extremely happy. I also had a card from my sister and her yearbook photo from this year. The things she says just cracks me up! The day before I had received a card from one of my best friends which also made me extremely happy! I also received my first paycheck the day before unexpectedly so that was great too! I hoped that my good fortune extended to Friday which was when I had to go to the National Police to pick up my NIE, my number so I can stay in Spain. I easily received it and then I went to the library where my library card was ready and I checked out two books in Spanish. Then I went and opened a bank account, although they later called my roommate later and said I needed some papers that showed my economic status in Spain (not too sure on that. I have to talk to my school Monday) and then I was FINALLY able to get the internet so overall it was a good week!
The Cathedral in Sevilla
Me in front of the Alhambra in Granada
Also, if you want to see more pictures from my time in Spain you can look at them on my facebook, but if we aren't friends yet you need to add me! facebook.com/katie.collins.l.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Granada and other things!
Not this past weekend, but the weekend before I went to Granada. I had really wanted to see the Alhambra, a large Muslim palace, and it was my main reason for going. My train ride over there was quite interesting! I had to take one train and wait for an hour or so and then get on another train. On that train at one point we had stopped someplace extra long and there was an announcement that I didn´t quite catch all of. All I knew was that something was wrong and we had to get off to take a bus where more confusion occurred because there were two trains there, one going to Granada and the other to Malaga. A police officer announced that the one bus was going to Granada so people started to get on, but then the driver came on and said he was going to Malaga. Everyone headed to the other bus, but the driver said he too was going to Malaga. Now there are people standing in the rain extremely confused until we were told which bus to finally get on. Once on the bus the ride was about a half an hour to another train station where I then had to take another train to get to Granada. It was like my time trying to get from Berlin to Amsterdam this past summer with Jackie and Jill!
Granada is a beautiful city! It is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, a Muslim palace, is up in the mountains. Unfortunately I wasn´t able to go to the Alhambra even though I woke up at six fifteen to catch the seven o´clock bus and proceeded to wait in a line for an hour to get a ticket. They announced they have 130 tickets and by 8:15, only fifteen minutes after the ticket office opened, they were out! Needless to say that was a bit disappointing, but I plan to come back with my mom and sister and now I know we need reservations in advance!
Granada has a lot of Islamic influence and this can be seen by the many tourist shops and by the Cathedral where they have people write your name in Arabic calligraphy, which I had done! There is also a famous neighborhood here called the Albaicin which has a fantastic view of the Alhambra and many Islamic inspired shops with the geometric designs, scarfs, even hookahs!
I don´t have internet at my flat yet, but hopefully I will next week one I get my NIE, a number that I need to have in order to live in Spain. After that I can open a bank account and get internet at my place, or so I hope if all things run smoothly. The weekend of Halloween I plan to go to Valencia, a city located on the Mediterranean coast that is famous for their oranges.
Things at my school have been going pretty well. In my class where I work with students ages 5 to 7 I am now working with them in groups of four bymyself, which suits me just fine. I feel like I can do what I like with them such as plan different activities where before it was harder to do so. This week I have been going over colors, numbers, different foods and where you buy them, whether they are pretty or handsome based on if they are a boy or girl, etc. We also have been reading a book about a girl who makes a drawing with a magic head and adds different body parts so I taught them all the heads, shoulders, knees, and toes song too. Next weeks will be all about Halloween so hopefully that will be fun!
Granada is a beautiful city! It is surrounded by the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Alhambra, a Muslim palace, is up in the mountains. Unfortunately I wasn´t able to go to the Alhambra even though I woke up at six fifteen to catch the seven o´clock bus and proceeded to wait in a line for an hour to get a ticket. They announced they have 130 tickets and by 8:15, only fifteen minutes after the ticket office opened, they were out! Needless to say that was a bit disappointing, but I plan to come back with my mom and sister and now I know we need reservations in advance!
Granada has a lot of Islamic influence and this can be seen by the many tourist shops and by the Cathedral where they have people write your name in Arabic calligraphy, which I had done! There is also a famous neighborhood here called the Albaicin which has a fantastic view of the Alhambra and many Islamic inspired shops with the geometric designs, scarfs, even hookahs!
I don´t have internet at my flat yet, but hopefully I will next week one I get my NIE, a number that I need to have in order to live in Spain. After that I can open a bank account and get internet at my place, or so I hope if all things run smoothly. The weekend of Halloween I plan to go to Valencia, a city located on the Mediterranean coast that is famous for their oranges.
Things at my school have been going pretty well. In my class where I work with students ages 5 to 7 I am now working with them in groups of four bymyself, which suits me just fine. I feel like I can do what I like with them such as plan different activities where before it was harder to do so. This week I have been going over colors, numbers, different foods and where you buy them, whether they are pretty or handsome based on if they are a boy or girl, etc. We also have been reading a book about a girl who makes a drawing with a magic head and adds different body parts so I taught them all the heads, shoulders, knees, and toes song too. Next weeks will be all about Halloween so hopefully that will be fun!
Friday, October 8, 2010
What a Week!
It´s been a while since I posted, but I have been busy trying to find a flat! The good news is I finally found one and I move in this morning. It is with a lady in an apartment building near where one of the girls I work with lives. My room is pretty nice with lots of closet space (not that I have too many clothes!) and the rest of the apartment is also nice. The only downside is she doesn´t have internet, but I plan on talking to her on what I need to do to get it.
Last Friday I was still in Sevilla and that night other auxiliares from the program met up at a tapas bar. Two other girls and I went out to a different tapas place first and then we went to the one with the other people from the program. It was a lot of fun and I met some other people, although most people are living in Sevilla.
Sunday evening I took the train to Jerez de la Frontera, the city I am living in. It´s about an hour train ride from Sevilla and it has around 200,000 people here. The past few days I have been staying with a girl who works at my school and her roommate. They have both been extremely nice in accomadating me and trying to help me find a piso (flat)! I have been able to see some of the city when driving around with the girls, but today I am going to try and figure out the bus system. The city has a lot of roundabouts here and in many of them there are either fountains or statues. In one of them there is even a statue of the Michelin man although I have no idea why! Another funny thing that they have here is an IKEA! Now I know where to go if I need some cheap house items. : )
I went to my school two days this week and next Wednesday I am going to give a presention about myself, where I´m from, and read a book about Kentucky. The school doesn´t have any computers in the classrooms so it limits me to what I can show them and the activities I can do (like powerpoints, show pictures, etc.). I only work three days now, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, which is much better than before.
The other day the two girls, another lady who works at my school, and one of the girl´s friends, and I went to a city called Puerta Santa Maria, a city on the coast. We went to a cafe that overlooked the beach and across the water you could see Cadiz. It was beautiful and I wish I had my camera, but I didn´t know we were going there!
This weekend is a long weekend due to holidays and I plan on going to Granada tomorrow. It´s supposed to rain, but that won´t stop me!
Last Friday I was still in Sevilla and that night other auxiliares from the program met up at a tapas bar. Two other girls and I went out to a different tapas place first and then we went to the one with the other people from the program. It was a lot of fun and I met some other people, although most people are living in Sevilla.
Sunday evening I took the train to Jerez de la Frontera, the city I am living in. It´s about an hour train ride from Sevilla and it has around 200,000 people here. The past few days I have been staying with a girl who works at my school and her roommate. They have both been extremely nice in accomadating me and trying to help me find a piso (flat)! I have been able to see some of the city when driving around with the girls, but today I am going to try and figure out the bus system. The city has a lot of roundabouts here and in many of them there are either fountains or statues. In one of them there is even a statue of the Michelin man although I have no idea why! Another funny thing that they have here is an IKEA! Now I know where to go if I need some cheap house items. : )
I went to my school two days this week and next Wednesday I am going to give a presention about myself, where I´m from, and read a book about Kentucky. The school doesn´t have any computers in the classrooms so it limits me to what I can show them and the activities I can do (like powerpoints, show pictures, etc.). I only work three days now, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, which is much better than before.
The other day the two girls, another lady who works at my school, and one of the girl´s friends, and I went to a city called Puerta Santa Maria, a city on the coast. We went to a cafe that overlooked the beach and across the water you could see Cadiz. It was beautiful and I wish I had my camera, but I didn´t know we were going there!
This weekend is a long weekend due to holidays and I plan on going to Granada tomorrow. It´s supposed to rain, but that won´t stop me!
Friday, October 1, 2010
My School!
Yesterday evening I went to the Alcazar in Sevilla, an old Muslim fortress and palace in the city. It doesn't look very big on the outside, but it is quite large once you go inside and it's easy to get lost. I bought an audio tour guide to go along with it and it was a little confusing and where the rooms on the guide were situated because they were not all next to each other. The Muslim influence can easily be seen through the architecture and it also has large gardens in the back. It's one thing that I had wanted to see while in Andalucia so I can check it off my list! I'll post some pictures once I upload them to my computer.
Today was the first day I was supposed to go to my school and I was worried about getting there because there was only one bus that went in the morning. Luckily I got to the station in the morning and didn't have any problems buying a ticket. When I first got to the school I met with the other teachers and the lady I have been e-mailing so it was nice to finally meet her! I went with one of the English teachers who works with younger kids (the ones in the room today when I was there were around 6). They don't know a lot of English but I went around and asked them all their names in English and then we played a game that the teacher told me about where I say point or touch a certain color. Later I went with the English teacher who works with older children, which would be our 2nd to 6th grade. The teacher had English books and she used those for the lesson. It was going over certain vocabulary and either doing an activity from the book or listening to a song. The kids asked me some questions like what was my name, where I was from, etc. I didn't expect to stay there the whole work day, which is only 9-2, but I did. I'm supposed to work Monday through Thursday, 18 hours in total, but as part of the program you are only required to work 12-16 so I might say something about it. Two other girls who are staying the same hostel with me only are working 12 so I am going to try and see if what other auxiliares' hours are. I feel bad about maybe having to ask to change my schedule because they have been so helpful, but part of the program is to experience the culture, not just work since it's a student grant.
I had to take a train back to Sevilla from a city called Lebrija where one of the teachers at the school worked. She was nice enough to drop me off at the train station where I was able to buy a ticket. When I arrived back at the train station in Sevilla I bought a train ticket to Jerez for on Monday. I canceled my other days staying at the hostel because on Sunday I am staying with one of the teachers at my school so on Monday we can go looking for a piso, a flat.
One day next week I'm supposed to have an orientation, but the school was supposed to provide the information. When I asked about it at my school they had no idea! Hopefully I can find out more information about it soon through other people!
Today was the first day I was supposed to go to my school and I was worried about getting there because there was only one bus that went in the morning. Luckily I got to the station in the morning and didn't have any problems buying a ticket. When I first got to the school I met with the other teachers and the lady I have been e-mailing so it was nice to finally meet her! I went with one of the English teachers who works with younger kids (the ones in the room today when I was there were around 6). They don't know a lot of English but I went around and asked them all their names in English and then we played a game that the teacher told me about where I say point or touch a certain color. Later I went with the English teacher who works with older children, which would be our 2nd to 6th grade. The teacher had English books and she used those for the lesson. It was going over certain vocabulary and either doing an activity from the book or listening to a song. The kids asked me some questions like what was my name, where I was from, etc. I didn't expect to stay there the whole work day, which is only 9-2, but I did. I'm supposed to work Monday through Thursday, 18 hours in total, but as part of the program you are only required to work 12-16 so I might say something about it. Two other girls who are staying the same hostel with me only are working 12 so I am going to try and see if what other auxiliares' hours are. I feel bad about maybe having to ask to change my schedule because they have been so helpful, but part of the program is to experience the culture, not just work since it's a student grant.
I had to take a train back to Sevilla from a city called Lebrija where one of the teachers at the school worked. She was nice enough to drop me off at the train station where I was able to buy a ticket. When I arrived back at the train station in Sevilla I bought a train ticket to Jerez for on Monday. I canceled my other days staying at the hostel because on Sunday I am staying with one of the teachers at my school so on Monday we can go looking for a piso, a flat.
One day next week I'm supposed to have an orientation, but the school was supposed to provide the information. When I asked about it at my school they had no idea! Hopefully I can find out more information about it soon through other people!
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