Madrid, Spain 2015-2016
2nd week
I'm sure many of you have heard the pace of life can be different in Europe compared to North America. So far I am getting the impression that it's true.
We had our first day of work on Thursday and met our other English Assistant co-workers and some of the Spanish teachers. My school seems great, the teachers seem nice, my co-teachers and I all got along really well.
Our schedule includes two 45 minute classes in the morning. After we have a 30 minute break/ snack time. The school provides the teachers a free snack which includes stuff like coffee/tea, fruit, yogurt, bread and maybe something else savoury or sweet. This is a really nice treat! After break we have another two 45 minute classes, a two hour lunch, then, finally, two 45 minute classes. I also have Monday off each week!
I went into my classes on Friday and the students were apparently extra loud that day because it was Friday and they had a new assistant teacher. I am glad I have taught before because I could relate to the teacher disciplining them to be quiet all the time. I am excited because I think it will be interesting and educational seeing the differences between teaching the Korean kids vs. Spanish kids. It will also be interesting to see how quickly they pick up English when they have a native language that is a lot more similar. I also have to give props to the Korean kids who picked up English extremely well considering how different their language is. It is normal for the kids here to give teachers big hugs so I am looking forward to that as well!
The school doesn't use a bell for when the time is up so I noticed that while everything ran relatively on time, the classes could start and end a couple minutes late and it wasn't a huge deal. Also, the teachers could dress really casually. Some of the Spanish teachers looked like they were going to yoga class right after school or wore jeans/leggings. Many of the teachers at my school are really young and hip too. For me, I would feel a bit too strange wearing my leggings or yoga clothes to work, but it could be handy to have that clothing attire to do yoga for when I have my two hour lunch break!
I will give another example of the laid back culture. On Friday, after work, we were going to the pick up our debit cards at the bank. Daniel got a call that our landlord could sell us a dresser/wardrobe for our apartment (desperately needed). He said he would come after 5pm to drop it off. We came home instead of going to the bank because we didn't want to be late meeting him. We carried on with our night, keeping in mind someone was going to be coming at anytime. Around 8:30 we finally called to see if they were still coming. They said yes, they were just packing the truck. Around 12:30am I was struggling to keep my eyes open and they called to say they were on their way. At 1:45am I woke up to hear the door open because they finally arrived with the wardrobe. The boys unloaded the pieces and then one of them said he would be back on Sunday to actually put it together with his tools. Phew, that was a long night. We are starting to learn our lesson that you just have do continue doing your thing and not to wait around for others because when they say after 5, it could mean anytime after 5.
On Saturday we toured around Retiro Park. It is the one huge park in the city and it was very beautiful and the leaves were changing colours in the park!
You can exercise while sitting on a bench
On Monday, our day off, we found a little side job reading a script for a company in a recording room for just under an hour.
Starting on Tuesday we were back at work but the children at my school were a little bit more calm this week since I wasn't just meeting for the first time. Its nice when you start to get to know your way around. There are a ton a teachers and children I will be working with, but after this week, I am starting to get to know them a bit better. One teacher at my school turns out to be a neighbour and she is around the same age as me. We took the metro home together one day and she told me there is actually a large supermarket near our house (we have been going to the smaller express ones), so she will probably be a huge help! Some of the teachers also have a UNO tournament going on at lunchtime which is fun!
My only complaint so far is getting used of a 9-5 schedule. I know I really shouldn't be complaining at all, but I find that even though I am teaching the same amount of classes or less than Korea, waking up early for my one hour commute and knowing I have to wake up early the next day has been really draining me so far. I hope I get used of it soon because there are a ton of interesting things to do here in Madrid! I think it is also a part of adjusting to a new environment, job and language at the same time. I also will be taking 2.5 hours of Spanish classes twice a week, directly after work until 7pm so those days will be long but I am happy to have that opportunity. :) I was extremely surprised to get into the upper intermediate class.
