Classes in Spain!

**This post is dedicated to all my friends who are teachers! It is harder than I thought to be confident with twenty people staring at you like they do not understand... Morgan, Chelsea, Kristyn, Hanna, Josh, Alexa, Katie, you know what I am saying!

So..the real reason I got the opportunity to live in Spain for 8 months was because I was accepted to be a teaching assistant in a public school here in Spain. I am working at a high school in the town of Brión, which is a 15 minute bus ride from the city of Santiago. My official position is an Auxiliar de Conversación. I've figured out my job is to basically get the students to talk with me in English. The professors want the students to speak freely to practice the language, and my responsibility is to come up with ways to get them to talk. Conversation is an important part of learning a language, so I like to think I have a pretty important job! I work with 3 different English professors and in the bilingual P.E. classes.

IES de Brión, the school that I teach in

So far, I mostly talk about something in my life or life in the United States, and then have the students tell me about that aspect in their lives. This week the second level students have been learning about professions. I brought in some pictures of products that P&G makes, and then explained to them what my Dad does at his job. I taught them how to ask someone what they do for a living, and to respond when someone asks them.  Then we went around and asked each student what their father or mother did for a living. Then I had them ask me what my other family members did at their jobs. In short, some kids in Spain now know what a product developer, a financial adviser, a restaurant manager, a package designer, and child care worker are thanks to my family. In the third level classes the students are learning about food. We have talked about the differences of American and Spanish food, and this week I brought in a LaRosa's menu and had them act as as waiter and customers and order some pizza. It was a very fun class, especially when they found out they got to decide whether to tip the waiter or not.

walkway in Brión on my path to school

The older classes mostly just ask me questions, which I don't mind because they are speaking. I have gotten everything from how do I feel about weapon control, to do Americans really have bacon, eggs, and pancakes every morning.
 

View from my school

In the P.E. classes I do the warm-ups and teach the name of the joints and muscles. I also get to administer and explain the fitness tests. I am just glad I never have to do the sit-and-reach test again!
I work 12 hours a week, which is a pretty good deal when I am mostly talking about myself and my country.

The kids are warming up to me, and I think they like the break from learning grammar each week. It good to have a routine here, and someplace to go every morning. The other professors at the school are very welcoming to me also, including me in coffee breaks and giving me rides home after school. It is a great job and good to get me out of my comfort zone. Getting paid each month to live in Spain doesn't hurt either!