Teachers deserve more respect....

The first day of my "real job" started less than ideal but was most certainly memorable. I commute about 15mins on bike to the train station where I take the train for about 20mins to a small city south of Seville called Dos Hermanas where I then walk another 15 mins to get to the school. This commute isn't that hard to figure out yet for some reason, most likely due to nerves, I took the train going the OPPOSITE direction and arrived nearly an hour late to my first day at school. I felt horrible yet luckily the Spanish are very forgiving, laid back people so it was a "no pasa nada" (don't worry bout it), moment. Phew, they didn't fire me.

I am working 12 hours a week at a bilingual high school (which in Spain is ages 12-18) and my main job is to facilitate conversation among students in the class, correct misspoken or miswritten (is that a English word?) English, and let everyone there hear my native tongue (It's highly prized here!). I work in many different types of classes: chemistry, mathematics, social studies, ethics, music (ahhh noooo) and my favorite, PE!!!! Some of the classes have teachers that speak decent English, some speak very little and same goes for the students. Even though this school is bilingual not all the kids speak English, which as one might imagine this makes it very hard to conduct a class 100% in English so it takes lots of patience and observation to make sure your students are learning something, even if they don't speak English. Within my first three weeks, I have come to enjoy my PE classes the most, I'm sure that is not a surprise to most of you. Rosa, the PE teacher, is a beginner with her English so I mostly run the class on days that I'm there. She tells me what to do and I just do it all in English. I lead the kids in warm-up, make them run, and then instruct them on whatever training circuit or game they are playing that day. It's amazing how pathetic some of them are. One day the task was to run for 2mins, walk for 30sec and repeat for maybe a total of 10mins. By the 4th minute the kids were complaining saying "Teacher, estoy muriendo! No puedo hacer mas!" (I'm dying and can't continue). Give me a break! But it really fired me up and that's when I decided I would start wearing athletics clothes to class so I could actively participate. However, that simple idea came back to get me this week.

There's one class that really loves me. On Monday I had a group of girls come running up to me, "Mandy, Mandy!!!" (the Spanish don't make the Ma sound, so my names has a mon-day fell, like in Jamaica) and then in very broken English and all at once they were trying to explain to me what that guy Felix who jumped from space to Earth had done. Unfortunately, I had not heard the news yet and therefore it took about 13mins for them to explain about 5 sentences to me. But it made my day they had decided to be brave and speak to me. In that same class we were doing fitness testing where they had to sprint various distances. I was in charge of saying "Ready, set, GO!" and noticed there was definitely some fast chicos in the class. I was certainly happy I wasn't sprinting, its not exactly my specialty. JINX! Once everyone was finished, there was suddenly a mob of students around me speaking all in once in English and Spanish that I should race this one girl. I instantly thought NO WAY JOSE, I am NOT fast and that girl was hauling down the track. But then I thought about how much I could improved my likability and why not, no regrets 2012. Plus this girl was 11 and probably weighed about 80lbs. Before I knew it I heard, GO! And before I knew it I was staring at her back. She beat me pretty good. The students had been cheering for me and I think they respected me for doing it. Afterwards her classmates told me she had won 18 (!!!!) medals for track and is the 2nd fastest runner for her age in Southern Spain. Holy guacamole. I told her see would be famous one day and she nodded and smiled with the "ya, i know look". I tried to tell her classmates they should get her autograph now cause she's going to be famous...I think they understood.

The dynamic at the school is interesting this year. Due to the economic crisis in Spain, the teachers are having to work more, there is no toilet paper or hand soap provided in the student bathrooms, and there's no paper to just use freely for homework etc. Perhaps the most shocking change to me, is that the government of Andalucia (the southern region of Spain) has made it ILLEGAL that the schools make the purchases of books for classes mandatory. And the government will not provide the books. I'm not sure what is worse, no hand soap or no books. At my school, there is a very diverse socio-economic scene with anything from gitanos (gypsies) to middle class. The gitanos are very free spirits and the kids have no discipline at home. The come and go to school as they please, talk back to teachers, run a muck, don't know a word of English and just disrupt everything possible. The worst part is, there's reallly nothing the administration does or can do to make them stop or be better people. Also, I realize I'm far beyond the high school level for education, but the kids are not challenged and the classes are so simple and uncreative. In chemistry for example the teacher, Pedro, put up a description of the scientific method on the overhead projector and we spent an hour just reading it and translating it. There's never any homework assigned. The kids talk among each other whenever. It's kinda appalling. And they never get homework. Life of a Spanish high schooler, wow.

 I.E.S Gonzalo Nazareno, the high school

 ]The sunrise on my morning commute

 The train stop "canta el gallo", the rooster sings...yep here the roosters sing

 Just a causal view of my walk to school in Dos Hermanas

My second job:

As the 700euro stipend from the government is greatly appreciated and is enough to cover living, food, gym, phone and commuting expenses, I would like to travel while I'm here. So I picked up 3 under the table tutoring jobs. As I had mentioned in one of my earlier blog posts, I made a friend on the airplane to Seville named Araceli, her family was just returning from a year in Alabama. I ended up getting a job "tutoring" their 8 year old daughter, Rosa. She speaks beautiful English, that she learned all in one year from living in Alabama and as you can imagine she learned it in the south, so her accent is adorable. I basically get paid to play and interact with her in English twice a week for an hour. Easiest money I've ever made, although she's getting rather sassy and bossy with me. She loves dancing so we spend most of our time choreographing HER dance. She always tells me I'm doing it wrong, don't worry I put her in her place. Her family has friends who have been seeking a native English speaker to "tutor" their kids as well. So I also work with Sela and Chloe, 8 and 6 years old who speak decent English and are BEAUTIFUL children. I love them and their mom. The mom speaks English as her first husband was American and she lived in America (OREGON) for 8 years. Luckily her and I get to meet for coffee and practice both languages. The last tutoring group is what I like to call the lil devils. They are a group of 4 kids, 3 six year olds and one 8 year old. Two boys, two girls. The oldest one speaks and understands English (not that well but better than the others), the others speak and understand "hello" and that's about it. Therefore as an Exercise Science major I have spent hours online looking for help and how, what, when to teach these kids. The second session we had was a disaster. My plan lasted for about half and hour and with 30 mins remaining they were all yelling in Spanish that I was boring them. I appreciate the honesty, cause I certainly tried harder after that, but I didn't know what to do. Head, shoulders, knees and toes (the song) didn't even work. They already knew it. Damn it. Luckily, I'm getting smarter and better at this. It's like a game. We spent a full hour learning numbers 1 thru 12. Yep, a whole hour. Luckily, if you act excited and include games with balls you're good to go. AND I've learned making things competitive increases attentiveness, at least for this group. I think they are going to teach me about as much as I'm teaching them. All I know is that after 3 weeks of being involved in the school system and being a "teacher" I already greatly appreciate any teacher who ever tried to make an effort to engage a class and really to pursue a very challenging career. Good teacher's are special people.

My Spanish Athleticism...

The Carrera Noctura (Night Run) in Seville:

I'm managing quite well to maintain my active lifestyle while in Spain. There are many races/runs sponsored by the city of Seville throughout the year. My friend Rachel and I participated in Seville's well-participated night run. I've never done such a crazy race. Literally, 15,000 people run it. The run started at 10pm, there were people ready to win, people dressed in costumes (one man was a flower ?!?!), people looking a little uncertain...all the above. It was amazing!!! We ran 11km (about 7miles) through the city all while having the streets lined with Spainards cheering you on, many from the seat of their bar stool or street curb with beer in hand. Seville is a beautiful city at night as there are many bridges crossing the river with breathtaking lights eluminating the city. My favorite part was the end as you finish inside a giant olympic stadium. I felt like I was about to win a gold medal. I have to admit I got a little too competitive towards the end and was frustrated I couldn't go faster cause there were so many people bottle necking towards the finish line. Oh well, we all still recieved a racing tank, a sweet medal, free beer and a good time! (all for 5 euros might I add). Rachel and I's next running adventure will be the Granada Half Marathon on November 4th!!!

Rachel and I ready to go!

Ummm...there's the start line...I feel like a I'm participating in running with the bulls!

The finish at the olympic stadium! Hi Mom!

Our well deserved Cruzcampo Cerveza!

 

Speaking of athletics...I also joined a rowing club! I am learning how to row a single. It's quite difficult as I now have to manage two oars instead of one but luckily I'm the only one in the boat so I can only get frustrated with myself and it's a good mental break from Spanish. I row on the river usually at night, when the river is booming with kayakers, the rowing team and a big tourist boat. Along with the rowing, they have a gym with weight room, ergs, spinning bikes and many different classes offered. I've really enjoyed have a familiar culture and practicing my spanish with the fellow lovers of sweat and those working at the gym.

 

 



Excursions!

Here's some adventures I have been on and things I have seen so far....!

Went to Lagos, Portugal. One of the most beautiful beach cities I have ever seen. Lagos is mostly a resort town but it still has the intimate, unique, Portuguese feel. The 3 days of activies included the beach, exploring the nightlife, eating the biggest hamburger ever, watching the sunset from Sagrest (the furthest most west point on the coast of Portugal), sailboat cruise and being surrounded by too many Americans.


Image of the small, elegant streets of "downtown"

Ready, Set, Go!!!!

September 1^st, 2012, 3 am, that was the day. The day I was both excited for yet extremely anxious about. Although I knew deep down I wanted to go back to Spain so badly and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, I was also having second thoughts. It’s not mentally easy to say adios to those that are closest to your heart as well as all the comforts of life for 10months. From my previous experience in Granada, I was already feeling anxious about how much this year abroad could change me and how I perceive my future. Will I grow closer to my family and friends after being apart for so long? Will I ever want to go back to school? I am not a certified teacher; I majored in exercise science for crying out loud, what am I doing? Will I want to be a teacher one day? Where will I live? Will I gain 30lbs because they drink lots of beer and eat enriched white bread ALL THE TIME?! Too many mixed emotions and unknowns that all I could do was take a deep breath, wipe the tears and board the plane.

I traveled 26hrs before I made it to Seville. All was smooth, no problems. Ironically, on all my flights I sat next to other girls who were going to study abroad in Spain for the semester. However, on the final leg of the trip from Madrid to Sevilla I was sitting next to a young Spanish girl. I was trying to eavesdrop on her conversation that kept switching between Spanish and English with her sister. I wanted to be brave and ask them where they were from etc. but I was kinda struggling to stay awake. All the sudden, I woke up startled by the flight attendant to put up my seat for landing. I’m sure my reaction was priceless as the Spanish girl was quietly chuckling at the American mess sitting next to her. Before I knew it, she started talking to me in English asking me a bunch of questions and proceeded to tell me she was just returning from a year in Alabama. (ALABAMA!!! WHAT!!!) Her dad had been transferred there for work. Her and her sisters went to a public high school and did not know any English when they arrived. I was impressed with her ability to speak the language and that she had learned English in the South all within one years time. She insisted we become facebook friends so she could help me with whatever I needed while adjusting to life in Seville. The end of the story is meeting Araceli was a blessing in disguise. She made me more confident this next year would be okay and there were nice people out there who wanted to help you and appreciated what you were doing in their country. We are now friends, and her family has hired me to play/interact with her younger sister to keep up her English skills. And of course, her family has friends that also want my native English tongue spoken to their children. More on this later.

After arriving in Seville, I had 3 weeks of orientation with my program, CIEE. The program consists of 100 Americans of all different Spanish language skills, degrees and ages (20-35). Oh, and there are maybe 15 males total, hahaha. All 100 of us are assigned to different bilingual schools in different provinces of Andalucía. Throughout orientation we received information about how to find an apartment, how to set up a bank account, how to be an effective language and culture assistant, took Spanish classes and lived with homestay families. I’m not going to lie, these first 3 weeks were extremely difficult, more so than I anticipated. I realized I have never truly been homesick before. Between the jetlag, the different foods/eating schedule, not clicking with the people in my program, the HOT HOT HOT weather, the busy schedule, speaking Spanish etc., it was no wonder I was having a hard time. As time passed and I got to know the city and the people in my program better I got more comfortable.

Staying with a homestay family is always interesting. You never know if you're going to get the crazy, widowed lady or the family with 3 screaming young children. Luckily, I lived with a relatively normal family with 2 daughters, 19 (Beatriz) and 22 (Maria Angeles) years old. Their apartment was very nice, rather large and constantly full with their family and about 4 students. I had never really interacted with a Spanish father, but Antonio offered a rather accurate represenation of the stereotype. Antonio was a good family man, hard working and a good cook. He liked to ensure he was always right and if you didn't agree with him or you didn't understand him the first time he would just repeat it slower and louder. This was especially difficult when he was trying to be sarcastic and well, things get lost in translation and then it just wasn't funny. I grew to adore the mother, Asuncion. She took a particular interest in your life and would do anything for you. She also loved learning new English words. In terms of the daughters, we never really hit it off. I think they continuosly have students living in their home which I imagine would be frustrating after awhile. Over the 3 weeks, I had some wonderful, traditional Spanish dishes but also had my fair share of stomach churning foods saturated in olive oil. The Spanish use olive oil for anything and everything. The lettuce in a salad would be swimming in olive oil and vinegar, the green peppers would be dripping with oil, would you like some potatoes with your oil? While I appreciated and enjoyed my time at the homestay I was ready to move into my own apartment.

Speaking of apartment, ya, that was an experience. There were many factors I had to consider when looking at apartments. Location. Price. Live with Spainards or Americans? Trusting these random people you might live with. After too much drama and inner turmoil, I decided it would be best to do my own thing and find a place looking for a roomate. I spent lots of time calling Spanish people on the phone, walking the streets of Seville looking for signs and feeling out the neighboorhoods, seeing different apartments and getting frustrated (Mandy, frustrated!? Never.) First there was the Korean, then there were 2 Spanish women, then there was nobody but then there was Ruben. Ruben is a native from the area and is currently a graduate student working towards a doctorate in journalism. The apartment is on the 8th floor and is a bit outside the "city center" by about 25mins walking. There are three bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and cozy living room. Something just clicked when I walked in, so I went for it. Plus Ruben wants his housemates to be like family, so I'm excited to get to know him and have a Spanish amigo. One of my favorite things about my apartment, I get to see the sunset every night at 8pm and it's stunning!

 

A little about Spain...



Map of Spain, showing the regions. Sevilla is in the South (the green part).
http://www.wall-maps.com/Classroom/Foreign-Language-Maps/spain-spanish-over.htm

Spain. España. A country I believe to be an overlooked beauty of Europe. Spain shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountains of France. Within Spain there are 17 regions each with their own unique culture, government, specialties in cuisine and dialect. Within each region there are several provinces. In addition Spain owns 2 cities on the northern coastline of Morocco, Ceuta and Melilla, as well as the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa and the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. For the next nine months I will be in Seville (or Sevilla in Spanish). Seville is the largest province within the region of Andalucía (the southern region of Spain).




The region of Andalucía is often referred to as the heart and soul of Spain. It is rich with Moorish architecture, whitewashing villages, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, delicious tapas, beautiful coastlines, art, flamenco dancing, bullfighting and festivals. Upon first impression the city of Seville is a bustling town full of Spaniards, tourists, students and foreigners working/studying abroad. Those who come to Seville for a few days will get to know the Plaza de España (second picture below), the Cathedral and Giralda, the Alcazar, the Plaza de Toros (bullfighting ring), the Rio Guadalquivir and the various barrios (neighborhoods) which give Seville its diversity.

Clearly enjoying a tapa of Paella and
a tinto de verano, a drink made with red wine and Fanta Limon!

 

Plaza de Toros: I was pretending to be a bull and
Emily was pretending to be the bullfighter!

 

                                     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why am I here?

Here I am, twenty-two years old, a recent college graduate and I find myself sitting in the living room of my apartment in Spain overlooking the city of Seville. I am sitting here reflecting and trying to put into words, not only for those of you at home but also for myself, why I am here. The obvious is to start tomorrow as a “Language and Culture Assistant” at a high school in a suburb of Seville, called Dos Hermanas. The less obvious is confusing and almost seems to be something I was destined to do from a young age. I have been fortunate enough to grow up in a family where my parents believe traveling is one of the best teaching tools. We have spent summer vacations in anywhere from the Galapagos Islands, the Grand Canyon, the desserts of Africa to the coliseum in Rome. Overtime, the exposure to different cultures, languages and people has opened my eyes to many things and most importantly taught me a valuable lesson. That lesson being to have a greater appreciation for my daily, privileged life in the United States yet at the same time understanding how this privilege sometimes hinders our insight of the bigger picture of life. Let me elaborate.

We as Americans, as well as most of the world, are aware of the opportunities in our country. Unfortunately, many of these opportunities are taken for granted. One of my biggest frustrations as an American and changes in my life came after I returned from a semester studying abroad in Granada, Spain the fall of 2010. During my four months, I engaged daily in the Spanish lifestyle which I came to love and appreciate. It was the small things like taking time to walk down the street, taking time to eat sitting down, taking time to meet a friend and talk in person, taking time for family and taking time for you. Every weekday in Spain there is “siesta” from 2 to 5ish in the afternoon where most small shops close down so families can be together for lunch, the biggest meal of the day, and take a short nap. Yes, you heard me right! The siesta is a real thing. But it is such a lifestyle not focused on earning money, being in a million places at once and being involved in a thousand activities, that makes it so refreshing to experience. After living like this for a semester you can only imagine the transition back to college student mode. Not fun, but most certainly a valuable culture shock. When I started school back up in the spring I was always frustrated and struggled to be happy. I had not realized until this point how much I had truly experienced and changed. And not to mention the new viewpoint I had on American lifestyle and culture.

I believe often times we are blinded by the social pressure to have a career and not just any career but a successful one. This idea is formulated from a young age and continues up to the university level. The problem is that the first 22 years of our lives are mostly painted in a pretty picture for us, following the education route. But once college graduation day comes, there’s an uncomfortable feeling of having so many doors open for you, that you have no idea which one to enter. Some of these doors appear to be something out of a haunted house. A door that many of us would never dare enter out of fear of failure and/or the procrastination of a career. However, some people take the more inviting, comforting door. This door may lead to graduate school where there is a sense of security that one is doing the ‘right’ thing and will be more likely to have a successful career filled with never ending happiness and money. At this point in my life, I didn’t want to choose that door. I believe my life will be enriched from taking this time to explore the world and myself before I have any full commitments of a career or family. I am confident if I take the next 9 challenging months to teach, travel and live in Spain, I will be ready to pursue a lifelong career and be more willing to “settle down” back at home in the United States. That is why I am here.