“My head is spinning and I can’t hear your voice…” finally a new song to listen too. Thank you back to school free playlist from iTunes. It is Thursday and I have successfully completed six tutoring sessions this week with only one more tomorrow, regrettably. It is really hard to describe to someone that even though I have all this free time on Friday I simply do not want a tutoring session on that day. May failure to stick up for myself as lead me to have a tutoring session with three 7 year old kids for an hour. It is money in the bank (I’ve been saying that a lot lately) but I’m either going to pawn this session off to Corrie or cancel it all together because I would like one free day. It really isn’t that much to ask for.
I told you about my Monday tutoring sessions so now I’ll fill you in with the rest. So Tuesday I had another full day of school. I worked on finishing my poster for the 4th grade about Healthy Habits, I attended three classes, and played a little with the kids at recess. I had fun teaching the 1st graders body parts with Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes and coloring different parts of the body with crayons. I then assisted Inma in a 4th grade art class. They were working on shading and adding texture to drawings. I really wanted to grad a pencil and paper and make the drawing myself but alas I had a job to do. I had to walk around and tell kids that they were doing a good job. It was a little mindless and not that interactive unfortunately but I’m starting to pick up more names of kids. At recess this one girl, Teresa, came up to me and asked a few things in English. She was the first student to do that. She speaks very well and seems to understand English as well. The next day I discovered that we live on the same street, just a few doors down, and that her dad is the Math teacher that Kate has to work with. He was very friendly as well. Kate told me that he asked Kate to tutor Teresa in English. I was a little bummed that I missed out on that one, but I can’t handle any more sessions. Pocho mentioned that she had some old books leftover from Kayla (the previous language assistant). At first I was thinking they were grammar books for English tutoring so I was pumped but then I found out they were Spanish grammar books. This turned out to be a good thing because I wanted my grammar book form college sent to me, but now I don’t need it.
Also it was quite curious that within the pile of books was the novel Dracula. It was some kind of sign from above that I should continue my slight obsession with vampires. I never use to like scary things like vampires (or scary things in general, I walked out of Men In Black because it was too much for me, true story) but when I saw promotions for the show True Blood on HBO (about a year before the actual show aired) it piqued my interest and from there spiraled the Twilight Series, An Interview With a Vampire, The Vampire Diaries, The Haunted Forest (scary Halloween attraction in my town that I’ve never been to before), scary movies (to a point---KP, Tiny, and Misa know what I’m talking about), The Sookie Stackhouse Series, and even my very own colony of bats outside my house this past summer (I named each bat after characters from True Blood and every day I took a picture of the colony---a little weird I know). I guess the next logical step for me is to start from THE original source of vampire glorification, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I started reading it today (Thursday) and I couldn’t put it down :) Okay back to the topic…
After school on Tuesday I prepared for my next two sessions: the first was two 12 year girls and the second was 3 7 year old kids. Again, having no access to the internet before these sessions I had to come up with what to do based on my own materials (aka the noggin). I’m starting to really appreciate teachers more for all the planning that goes into lessons. Granted, they do have the help from a lesson planner with instructions on what to cover, previous years experience in the manner of conducting lessons, and units in which they have to follow. I have no such luxury. I don’t know what I’m dealing with so I have to prepare for every level of English with activities that can be beneficial for all levels and yet stimulating. Plus I have no idea how long it takes kids to go through exercises so I have to think of at least 5 different activities so we utilize all the time. My biggest fear is that I run out of things to do and the mom or dad is watching me and thinking, “Why am I paying her?” :(
Well the two girls were very nice but I could tell they were really shy in front me. I did my usual introduction with pictures and explanations of who I was and what I liked and then continued to ask them the same introductory questions. These girls were definitely not as advanced as Sergio for they had more trouble with the future tense, only spoke simple sentences, and had some trouble understanding my questions. With these girls I’ll have to translate my activities and questions from Spanish to English in order for them to really comprehend which is good because it will help me work on my Spanish. Before I left their house their mother, Margarita, asked me if she could have a lesson. Oh boy, now I have three sessions on Monday. I can tell that she doesn’t know much English so its going to have to start with the basics with her. The only positive aspect is that I’m sure she just wants to focus solely on conversation rather than reading and writing. As I was leaving Margarita offered me a homemade equivalent to an alfajor. It was covered in coconut and dulce goodness. Yumm so good.
Next I had to go straight to my next session with my across the street neighbor’s kids. When I arrived she talked with me for a long time and explained that the other mom’s couldn’t get their children to this session so it would only be her daughter Marta. She then convinced me to tutor her daughter one on one on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 8-9p (so late!!!---for me) and then a third time on Friday with the two other children right after school from 3:30-4:30p. Oy Vey! The little girl Marta was very sweet and very smart. She has a good base of vocabulary, speaks clearly, and picks up new words quickly. I made up my own exercise for her and it worked out really well. I thought it would be too difficult but she managed with ease. I was silently patting my back for my first attempt at creating a grammar exercise was a success. We finished the rest of the session with her mom watching us. I really hate that. There is nothing worse than that looming feeling that your every movement is being scrutinized and analyzed. First off it makes me perspire and secondly it makes me tense up and lose focus on the momentum that I’ve built with the student. Somehow I managed to finish the session.
Afterwards the mom was so sweet. She made me stay over as she fixed me some chicken soup for dinner and let me use the Internet. She reiterated the fact that if I need anything I should come on over. She doesn’t mind making me food, letting me use the Internet, or running an errand with me by means of the car. I wish I knew how to express true gratitude beyond MUCHAS GRACIAS in Spanish but I haven’t managed to figure it out yet. I gotta say there’s no better feeling in my opinion than the feeling of reassurance you get when you know that you are truly going to be OKAY. Now I can exhale and relax, I’m going to make it here in Valverde. After talking with Claire who lives in Huelva about her experiences so far I feel jealous that she can go to a health club, take trips to wherever easily, and hang out with other American’s from our program by she does not have the same sense of community that I have. She doesn’t see her students once school is over, she’s trying to establish a relationship with her coworkers but its been difficult (and she’s practically fluent), she has to walk 25 minutes to her school, and she doesn’t know any of her neighbors. I guess this experience so far has made me appreciate what a small town can have to offer someone. Coming from a big city and always living in cities I could never really understand why people preferred small towns to city. Now I’m starting to get it….
So Wednesday I only had one class to attend so I took the rest of the day to run errands. First i did a major grocery shop. I dread grocery shopping day because it is an event when i have to walk straight uphill with a backpack full of Tinto de Verano (wine/soda concoction), orange juice, cereal, a full chicken, and potato chips, and so forth for a good 20 minutes. By the time i get home I've sweated through my shirt, my back is aching, and my arms hurt from carrying bags. I try to limit these occasions to once every two weeks if i can help it. After grabbing a snack i head down hill to the Youth House to get in some quality email, tv show catchup, and tutoring planning done. I only have an hour and a half so i do my best to make the most of my time but its hard when you don't know where to look for materials about teaching. After the people at the Youth House kicked me out i went to the Post Office (Correos). I had to pick up my new phone from the UK. I got a kick out of the spinning clear glass conveyor belt that they use to place your packages in so that they can minimize hand to hand transactions. It is so unnecessary but in the age of Swine Flu necessary precautions are taken. I got my package without any problems so i headed back up the hill. I swear if I don't leave Spain with chiseled calfs and butt I'm suing Carmen Electra for false advertising. Once at home i decompressed for awhile. I made an amazing lunch, took a power nap, showered, packed for my trip to Huelva the next day, and planned out my sessions.
So my first session was Sergio. I thought it was going to be easier but we hit some road blocks. I had photocopied some grammar exercises to help him review but it ended up confusing him more. I tried to explain the best i could why the answer was the way it was but i think the English in the sentences were what was tripping him up. He also reverted bak to Spanish when he was confused instead of English and he speaks so fast that I can't understand him. It was not going well. So i ended that early. Plan B.... I tried some role playing exercises. I think he understood why i was trying role playing with him but he didn't respond to it the way i had hoped. I decided for the last exercise i would let him choose. He chose 20 questions. Again it was hard at first for him to understand but eventually he got it. We ended with that. It was not a good session. I was upset that i wasn't able to really teach him anything but i had to let that pass because i had his mom up next.
Ana was accompanied by Paco for this session. He was a very sweet man. I went through my usual introductory questions but i decided to skip the pictures since Ana had already seen them. I decided to jump right into role playing. They really liked it and got really into it. They improvised really well and made each role play last longer than i expected. It was kind of easy because all i had to do was listen and jot down anytime i heard them say something in correct. After the role play i would go over with them what they said right and what they said wrong. They took notes of their own and asked more questions on the topic. I really enjoyed explaining to them how "we American's" say things and the terms that we use. My last scenario was that they were on a date and they had to get to know each other for the first time. I thought they would really like this one, but neither of them have ever heard of a "date". I tried to explain to them that it was an appointment or meeting between two people that like each other. It can be a dinner, a movie, or whatever. we even looked it up in the dictionary for the best explanation and they still couldn't fathom that concept. I asked them what they would call that in Spanish and they had no answer. How interesting? They call any kind of "date" a cita---meaning an appointment. Well the next obstacle was the two of them pretending to like each other. They were both not having this scenario so instead Paco ended up asking Ana a question that he really needed answered. The session was over in a flash. I actually really enjoyed it. now i know that all i have to do is come up with everyday scenarios for them to act out or come up with topics to discuss about. They don't want to read anything in English and they don't need to work on writing. I went from dreading the adult class to looking forward to it the most.
After the class i dropped off my stuff and headed to the bus stop. I had to go to Huelva tomorrow for my own cita with the Office of Extranjeros. To make a long story short, once again we were given another date to come to the Office because apparently there is only one person who deals with students and that person was not present. they didn't even know when that person would be present but i told them i wasn't leaving until they gave me another date. The only reassurance i got was the fact that they had a list of all the participants in Huelva and we got to check off our name so I know that they know we are trying to get this done and they should be prepared for us the next time. ONE CAN ONLY HOPE. To make this trip not a complete lost i did a trip to Corte Ingles in dire search of some English books to stock up on. Well, unfortunately my trip was a bust (again). They only had 1 book in English, Dan Brown's new book The Symbol. It just so happens that i like Dan Brown and I was planning on reading it when i got back to the states and it wasn't so expensive but i was desperate so i grabbed my only hope of entertainment after Dracula. After talking with the sales clerk he told me that no place in Huelva would have a good selection on English books. What a let down. That being said i decided to give Harry Potter in Spanish a try. I also decided to buy a Spanish tabloid magazine to practice reading Spanish (and because Iker Castilles was on the cover). I go to pay for my books and magazine at the counter with a credit card because i wanted to save up my cash for the weekend. Well in Corte Ingles you cannot pay for multiple items at one cashier. You literally have to pay for books in the book section, magazines in the magazine section, and so forth. It is absolutely ridiculous. I ended up paying for my magazine (1.25 Euros) with my credit card. Great. Thank you for telling me this after the man ran my card. He had the nerve to say in Spanish something like "what a cheap price for all those books". hahaha---NOT FUNNY. I grudgingly went to the book counter and paid for my books with the credit card again. Don't be mad at me dad, I didn't know! I'm almost positive the fees for using the card will be like 20 dollars for that damn magazine. Oy!
Next i decided to get a few more groceries here in Huelva that i knew Valverde didn't have, like PEANUT BUTTER :) Well i decided to go to the CarreFour (grocery chain). I found strawberries and really fresh looking apples, but no peanut butter. AHHHHHHHHH the OTHER Express CarreFour had the PB!!! When one sees "Express" before a name of a store is it safe to assume that this store would have fewer options then a normal store? That was my impression but once again I was sadly wrong. Honestly, is it just me? Sometimes Spain makes me look like a dang fool. The Express CarreFour back up the hill that i had just climbed down had the peanut butter. Not only did it have PB it had EVERYTHING. It was huge! I wish i had another suitcase just for groceries because i would have stocked up but alas i stuck to just a few non cold items. My backpack was now sufficiently weighing me down so i knew that it was time to stop and just go to the bus station.
My bus back to Valverde blasted the air conditioning to the point of constant goose bumps. Wonderful. Not only was in freezing but it also took a good twenty minutes longer than normal. It is a really good thing i didn't have any other appointments i needed to get to in the afternoon because i would have never made it on time. I was so happy to finally be in my bed in my house. I had had enough let downs from Spain in one day to satisfy me for the next month. As Charlie Brown would say, "good grief".
The only high point of the day was after my shower and mini nap I started Dracula. I really got into it and read until the natural light of the day could not suffice as reading light. With all my new groceries i decided to make pasta and saute me some veggies. It was a great meal. I didn't smoke up the kitchen and i cooked everything to perfection (in my opinion at least). For a day that started off pretty bad I was glad to end it on a positive note. After dinner I digested by writing this blog and complete the planning for my tutoring on Friday (today).
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