general update
As I write this, Helton (my flatmate) is drawing me... for his art class, I assume!
I think I'm getting into the swing of things. My biggest complaint right now is that the commute is a pain- it takes me almost an hour to get between home and work. Also it's a different feeling compared to last year in Hinojosa, where I felt like I was more part of the community, since most of us working at the school all lived within walking distance. Obviously, this isn't true in Madrid!
I work more at the school this year than I did last year. Overall, it's fun. I'm teaching 6-year-olds. Today before I left, I saw them all telling the PE teacher, "Hello!" and "How are you?" and "What's your name?" Another teacher had also told me a week ago that one of the boys asked if he could go to the bathroom, but she didn't understand because it was in English, and then he realized that he'd asked the question in English without meaning to, so then he asked her in Spanish.
So it's pretty cool to see that the bilingual program seems to be working here. With enough daily practice, the children are gradually learning how to speak English. It's pretty neat.
Today I showed them pictures of fall foliage in Vermont, and they seemed impressed. I was glad to show them a piece of my home. I know it's also a large part of what the auxiliar is for- to show what the US is like, beyond the view that Hollywood provides.
In other interesting news, last night I was contacted by an old friend from Germany for the first time in two years! We talked on Skype for around 2 hours... half English, half German. I can't believe I can still speak any German, really. It was quite the challenge.
That's all for now... and I owe you photos of Pais Vasco. Coming up....
I think I'm getting into the swing of things. My biggest complaint right now is that the commute is a pain- it takes me almost an hour to get between home and work. Also it's a different feeling compared to last year in Hinojosa, where I felt like I was more part of the community, since most of us working at the school all lived within walking distance. Obviously, this isn't true in Madrid!
I work more at the school this year than I did last year. Overall, it's fun. I'm teaching 6-year-olds. Today before I left, I saw them all telling the PE teacher, "Hello!" and "How are you?" and "What's your name?" Another teacher had also told me a week ago that one of the boys asked if he could go to the bathroom, but she didn't understand because it was in English, and then he realized that he'd asked the question in English without meaning to, so then he asked her in Spanish.
So it's pretty cool to see that the bilingual program seems to be working here. With enough daily practice, the children are gradually learning how to speak English. It's pretty neat.
Today I showed them pictures of fall foliage in Vermont, and they seemed impressed. I was glad to show them a piece of my home. I know it's also a large part of what the auxiliar is for- to show what the US is like, beyond the view that Hollywood provides.
In other interesting news, last night I was contacted by an old friend from Germany for the first time in two years! We talked on Skype for around 2 hours... half English, half German. I can't believe I can still speak any German, really. It was quite the challenge.
That's all for now... and I owe you photos of Pais Vasco. Coming up....