Hi!
My last post was when I was in Madrid which seems about a million years ago which isn't surprising seeing as it was almost a month ago since i've been on here - I can only apologise to those of you who have been waiting on reading this! Since then I've been super busy, I've now been here in Seville for just over a month and this is my fourth week of working here - which has been.. very interesting!
As most of you know, I work in two schools here alternating between the two. I work in one on Mondays and Wednesdays and the other on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I definitely have a favourite! As they're both so close to each other I seem to think one of them is a better school. The students seem to act completely differently, which is quite surprising really!
If you've been in contact with me at all you'll have heard most of these stories so I'm sorry, if not then enjoy!
In one school I work with solely first year classes, these students are aged 12 - 13 and their English is pretty low. They have the basics but they can't really hold a conversation and they have difficulty understanding me. I teach Social Science and Natural Science there, which obviously I have no clue about! To be left in charge of a class of around 20 students teaching them about Earth's atmosphere and other things is challenging but I would say I've become pretty good at just winging it. I have to teach the lessons in English and speak no Spanish at all, which is fine but when they can't speak English to me it becomes quite difficult. At uni I have never learnt about the earth's atmosphere so I lack the vocabulary to even try to begin to explain what on earth I'm rambling on about at the front, looking like a lemon.
The first week was pretty scary, it was all general introductions to me, my life, England etc. I basically talked a little bit about myself and then they asked me general questions. As I said, the level of English is very low so its generally things like "Do you got brother?" and "How many dog has you?" which is why I was very surprised when someone raised their hand and asked "What's your opinion on Spanish economy?". I have also been asked some more.. personal questions. One boy thought it would be funny to ask me a rather personal question - I didn't hear him as the class erupted into laughter after he asked me, followed by the teacher roaring at him telling him that he has no manners. After the class the teacher apologised to me for the rudeness of the class and told me they don't know the social boundaries. I asked him what the student had asked me and the teacher started laughing and said "He asked you if you are a virgin." ... Awkward!
The other school I teach 1st, 2nd, 3rd and top level students. Which is an interesting mix! On the whole, the 16-17 year old students don't really want to learn and don't care. My very first lesson on my very first day was them throwing stuff around the room absolutely refusing to cooperate with the teacher, who gave up within the first minute and just sat down as I talked and offered the occasional "ssh", which obviously did nothing as they were literally running around the room. Not a great first day! That may have just been a one off, the other older students are really interested and the work is a lot more interesting for me as their English is quite good so we can hold a conversation. I teach actual English lessons here so I feel much more useful! However I also teach maths, which is ridiculous. They cannot speak any English, a lot can't even count to 5 in English so teaching them square roots and stuff just does not work! Bad idea.
All in all, I'm really enjoying the job. No two days are the same and its very interesting, usually! Sometimes it can be really awkward, the language barrier is definitely a problem. A few teachers do literally just leave me, they sit at the back and don't say a word and expect me to teach the class. Which is fine, if I know what I'm doing. I found today that it's hard to explain words like "heavy" in English without saying it in Spanish - especially when I look to the teacher for help and she just shrugs her shoulders and says "You're the teacher, you have to explain it to them".
Most of the students want to practice their English and do speak to me in English in the classes, if they have questions they their best to ask me in English, which I appreciate is ridiculously difficult and daunting, when speaking to a native speaker. I'm scared to speak Spanish to them because I will make mistakes - and they're 12! Even outside the classroom they all run out to see me and shout "Hello David!", hi 5 me and shake my hand, which is actually really nice.
Also, my family came to visit me on Wednesday, which was really really nice. We did all the really touristy things which I haven't had the chance to do yet like go round the cathedral and up La Giralda, go into the Alcazar Palace, Plaza de España and Parque de Maria Luisa. If you follow me on Instagram you've probably seen most of the pictures, if you don't then why not (@davidmcgowan1). We also went to Alfonso XIII for Sian's birthday meal on Thursday, which I thought was incredible. Just google image a picture! (Of the hotel, not the 19th Century King of Spain.)
It was really good to see everyone, especially little Jamesy, who although is as cute as ever has turned into a massive pain in the arse in my absence. Must be because I'm not there to administer my disciplinary techniques! Sunday was a bit poo, after saying bye at the train station I felt pretty homesick. After 5 days of amazing food, I walked into the kitchen that night to cook something, walked straight back out again and to Burger King. I didn't even regret it.
Thank you for reading :)
David
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