I Survived the First Week

I keep thinking that as the weeks go by and I'm more settled in Madrid it will become easier to keep up with these posts.  Then it comes time to actually sit and write and I just can't seem to get the words out as I want.  Everyone at home asks me how things are and what exciting things I'm doing, but really things just feel normal.

Maybe it's the fact that being in a classroom is the norm for me, or that I'm living with my boyfriend, or now with my first week of work I'm officially speaking way too much English here!  This weekend has been my first alone to decompress and to really reflect on both this past month abroad and surviving my first week of work.

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And yes, you heard that right.  I survived my first week, high-fives anybody?  And from now until the end of June I will be working Tuesday through Friday in one fourth and three first grade classrooms.  If you ask why only the four days, in my program we can only work 16 hours per week.  But don't worry!  I'm looking for private classes too, we all know I'm a weirdo that lives to be busy.

Anyway, my school is a bilingual elementary school.  This means that multiple core subjects are taught completely in English, even to kindergarten and first graders, and each week I assist in teaching English, Science, and Physical Education (super fun!).  Even though it's only 16 hours per week, it's far more tiring than any teaching I have ever done before, and in fact far more frustrating because I have to pretend I don't know Spanish.  So many of the students are eager to talk and bond with me, but the young ones cannot communicate effectively in English yet.  I know they will improve quickly with all their exposure in school, but it still breaks my heart when I see their frustration because they can't express themselves.  I guess right now I'll just have to settle for hugs, kisses, and hearing "Hello Lauren (L-ow-rain)" yelled down the hallway.

My Experience

Each morning I wake up bright dark (seriously pitch black) and early at 7:30 am to catch the 8:26 train.  The day starts at 9:00 am, they have recess from 11:45 am to 12:15 (teacher's get a delicious breakfast!), and the school day ends at 2:00 pm.  At this point students can either be picked up by their parents or stay for the school's lunch.

And to be honest, my first day was a little jarring (and not only because they use mostly British English: rubbers, trousers, basins, toilets, oh. my. goodness.).

Luckily I had previously visited the school and kind of had an idea where everything was, so I wasn't that big a bundle of nerves.  Upon arrival the other auxiliares and I all met for a meeting where we received our health insurance cards, filled out paperwork, and discussed our weekly schedules.  Since there are four of us it was decided that two have Mondays off and the others Fridays.  It worked out quite nicely because two wanted specific days off and myself and the final wanted specific grade levels (luckily the opposite ones!).

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As I was sent off to my first classes I saw how different the spectrum of teaching can be.  Day one, a teacher of mine was what I would call 'a little bit rough around the edges'.  She was very, well, vocal in the class and it took me back a little because I'm not used to a teaching style like that.  In fact, I left the first day completely overwhelmed and unsure if I had made the right decision moving all the way here...

But I'm glad I brushed the thought off and came into school the next day with an open mind and a positive attitude.  Over the rest of the week I talked with the three different teachers I will be working with for the year about the plans they have for the class and it was then that I could fully see what dedicated, hard-working, and caring teachers I get to work with.  They do have very different teaching styles, but they all put so much personality and effort into their students and their lessons.  Especially clear in the constant celebration of the little victories: from when a student knows what day comes tomorrow, to asking if they should use a light or dark blue crayon, or to knowing what a cake is and that it starts with a "C".  'Good jobs' and high-fives all around!  So far it's been such a rewarding experience!

And on this note, I vow to carry the 'little victories' over into my own life for this year.  Maybe I'm still not a social butterfly, maybe I can't follow the news programs on tv, and maybe I still cannot have a heated debate in Spanish.  But I can run all the errands on my own, I can use public transportation without getting lost, and I can hold my own in a conversation.  Not bad for my first week of working abroad.

Exhibit A of the little victories:  Good wine and cheese

How has your first week been?  Has it been a good experience so far?