My Teaching Placement ...and an Update in Photos

I only work in one school this year, which helped me to feel integrated more quickly. I have a biweekly schedule, so I work with all of the groups instead of a few select classes. Although I still don't teach each student every week, I see them in the halls and some students are in more than one of my classes.

My school is the tan one behind the colorful elementary school.

One of my classes is an American Culture and History Elective for the Bachillerato (11th and 12th grade) students, which is pretty neat. I have this class twice a week, every week, plus I'm in their English language classes, so I see these students the most. In their English classes I take half the group at a time, so I'm only teaching 10-12 students at once. This is nicer for me and gives them more opportunities for speaking and practicing the language. The other group I see a lot is 4th ESO (10th grade) because I have a private lesson twice a week with a group of 6 girls from this level. Technically I don't see all of 4th year a lot; however, I feel like I know their group better, just because I know a handful of them well.

---I don't have anymore school-related photos, 

so how about a small update in the form of random images?---

I spent a lot of time on the trails outside of Lekeitio in October.
The weather was so nice!

I can honestly say I like all of my classes this year (...err, there might be one small exception, but out of 18 groups that's not bad). The 1st ESO (7th grade) is especially fun because they are so young and eager and LOVE having the American come to their class. I am pretty sure they would like me no matter what I did, but I still try to plan a fun lesson for them. 3rd ESO (9th grade) seems interested to get to know me. They really like activities where they get to ask me questions about myself or hear a small presentation about something in the U.S. 2nd ESO (8th grade) is somewhat a mix of 1st and 3rd meshed together; some are still very eager, others have chilled out a bit more.

I visited the farm of a friend of a friend in Markina (Oct).

In Spain some technical school classes are offered at the secondary schools, so I work with a business administration class from that group. Most of these students are 18-19, but some are in their 20s or older, and it is a very small class. It's neat that they are closer to my age. 

I was excited to see a bit of snow in Belgium :)  (Dec)

About my school as a whole... It is such a great school! There is so much technology available (which makes lesson planning easier and more fun), and the students have a high level of English overall (better than a lot of my previous students). Many of my students have traveled to England or the U.S., which makes them more motivated to learn the language. Because my school is in a small town, there are less behavior problems than some other places. All 5 of the English teachers I work with are very nice and laid back. I feel like I got lucky with a really good placement, the only small frustration I have is that it's a bit isolated; however, my living situation turned out pretty well too!

I was able to visit a friend in Mallorca for a few days of our Christmas break.
We had a great view of the Mediterranean while hiking in the mountains!

Where to Begin...

So now that I've been back in Spain for 2.5 months, I think it's about time to write about my new home and my new job...

I'm teaching in Lekeitio, Pais Vasco (Basque Country), Spain. Lekeitio is a gorgeous town on the northern coast of Spain, halfway between Bilbao and San Sebastian. Everyone in my town speaks Basque as their first language, and goes through a trilingual program in school, learning both Spanish and English as foreign languages. Some students even choose to take French or Latin as an elective. Language learning is just something they do here, which I think is pretty neat, as I have a passion for learning languages.

Most of the signs here are in Basque, sometimes without a Spanish translation!

However, my interest in learning languages is surprisingly inhibiting me from learning Basque, rather than aiding it. I'm a native English speaker with a high level of Spanish, began learning French from a friend last year, and have studied Mandarin Chinese with my brother in the past. Since I already have a basic foundation of two other languages, I want at least one of them to progress, for fear of losing all of them if I add a third language into my beginner's category. Plus, I live in close proximity to France, and other countries that speak the language (Belgium, Morocco), so I'm trying to set aside some time to study the language while I'm here. 

Recent trip to Belgium!

Although I haven't learned much more than a few phrases in Basque, I do really like their culture; I think it's so fascinating! I love when my students show me traditional dances, popular songs by local musicians, and tell me about their sports or traditions. Here is one band I was introduced to:

Living in the Basque Country gives me a new and rich cultural experience, while still allowing me to practice the same Spanish language with all of Europe at my fingertips.

Wordless Wednesdays 3/7

"Repetition" - Bilbao, Spain

Home Away From Home

I spent most of the weekend in Mérida (other than a short day trip yesterday) and I really feel like I'm starting to settle in here. Since arriving, I've encountered a variety of situations- in some cases, the people I interacted with were very welcoming; other times, not so much. The past few days though, I've experience a lot of hospitality, so I wanted to share...

Jess and I in Plaza de Constitución during our day trip to Almendralejo. 

Scenario 1: The lunch with teachers from my school (that I mentioned in my last entry) went great! We meet at a restaurant called El Castuó, near some of the Roman monuments on the edge of town. We got several raciones (platters, more or less) to share. They were excited about introducing me to some new dishes. Everyone was very nice to me even though I ended up doing a lot more listening than talking because my Spanish is kind of rough. A couple of the teachers have kids visiting/studying in the US! Although a few of the teachers know English, most of them happened to be at the other end of the table; however, my tutor was very helpful in explaining things to me when needed. (I finally learned the difference between jamón iberico & jamón serrano!) I prefer to use my Spanish anyway, even when it means I miss certain parts of the convo.  They talk quickly most of the time, but one of the teachers told me I knew a lot (of Spanish), which is the best compliment anyone can give me right now. They said they will invite me to come with them when they go out again :) ...oh, I can't forget to mention that when the check came, they didn't let me pay a cent!

One of our raciones had 2 types of chorizo & 2 other types of jamón- all very tasty!

Scenario 2: I went to a church service for the first time since being here, and the congregation was extremely friendly! Several people introduced themselves to me while waiting for the service to start. They seemed enthusiastic to get to know me, and asked lots of questions such as what's my name, where am I from, how long will I be here, when did I arrive, what am I doing here, do I go to a similar church back home, how did I find out about the church, where I live in Mérida, etc. That might sound a bit overwhelming, but every person did not ask every question, though I probably answered each of those at least twice this morning. I had not been sure what to expect beforehand, and actually thought there was a good chance no one would talk to me- turned out quite the opposite! They also introduced me to another American auxiliar, Angela, who had attended the previous week. She then introduced me to more of the congregation whom she remembered from her previous visit. (I had been wanting to find a church since I usually attend one back home, and just found out the exact time and location for this one yesterday afternoon. I will definitely be back on the weekends I'm not traveling!)

Scenario 3: Walking home from lunch today, I passed one of my primary students on the street. She said hi & that she was looking forward to seeing me in school tomorrow. So cute! ...although I did have to explain to her that I will be teaching at a secondary school this week and will only see her class every other week.

Another friendly face from this weekend.

Us auxiliares are sharing a bit of our own hospitality with each other too! Our potluck dinner on Friday was fantastic! There was plenty (or possibly too much) food and lots of good conversation (and in Spanish as often as possible)! The dinner was at our piso, and it was the first time my flatmates and I had  the group over to our place. It was fun to host & we hope to do something similar again soon :)

Sorry to be behind on pictures again, but the potluck photo is only on my flatmate's camera
...so for now, here's one from the Cáceres orientation- Jessa, Edward, me, Sophie

We have also begun discussing travel plans for our first long weekend at the end of the month! Nothing is finalized, but I am leaning towards País Vasco in Northern Spain. If anyone has advice on things to see and do there (Bilbao & San Sebastián), please share!