I started my job today at CPI de Panxón, a public school located 20 minutes outside of Vigo. I am an "auxiliar de conversación" which means I assist with the teaching of different subjects. I am only supposed to work 12 hours a week, but I agreed to teach an extra 1.5 hours so that I can teach all of the students. I will teach 16 classes a week, encompassing all the age groups. The school is for children ages 6-16. I am not exaggerating when I say that I teach in a castle overlooking the ocean. I can't wait to explore this town on Friday when I have a few extra hours to spend in-between classes.
I met one of the English teachers in the Plaza near where I live at 8:30. I will go to school with this teacher everyday, regardless of when I start because I can always use my breaks to lesson plan or walk around the town. When I arrived to school all the teachers were so welcoming and all of them offered to show me around, meanwhile going above and beyond to make me feel comfortable. I received an outline of my schedule and from my understanding I will be at the school until 3:15 everyday because I volunteered to help with lunch. At 2:00 the primary school children eat lunch. Along with five other teachers, I help the younger children cut their food, plate their food, and pick up their plates when they are finished. When the primary students finish eating the secondary students come to eat and during that time I sit with the other teachers to eat lunch. The food at this school is amazing! The first plate was a garbanzo bean soup and the second plate was a salad with fresh fish, and for dessert a generous slice of melon. I will definitely learn a decent amount Gallego (the regional language) this year because the teachers speak Gallego at lunch. After lunch I ran to the bus because I have been babysitting around 11 hours a week for the past two weeks for an amazing family.
The first class I taught was art class for the six year old children. It is a good thing I know Spanish because I basically translated everything the head teacher said into English. The kids are currently drawing pictures of farms and anything dealing with agriculture. I am supposed to speak in English during class, but these kids hardly know the colors, so I walked around pointing to the apples, strawberries and potatoes they drew and would teach them a word or two. The children spoke to me in Spanish, so I responded to them in English and because they didn't understand I spoke to them in Spanish. At the end of class at least five of the kids ran up to me, asking if I would be their friend, of course I said yes! The little ones then proceeded to show me all of their toys and told me how much they liked me, it is so easy to win over the little ones, as for the older children........
I then went to assist the English teacher who will drive me to school everyday. I taught her 14 and 15 year old students, as well as the 16 and 17 year olds. She is a fantastic teacher because in Spain the curriculum is very grammar focused and normally students have trouble understanding and speaking. This teacher is fluent in English and follows the curriculum, as well as asks them interesting questions in order to encourage their oral and speaking skills.
I am definitely more busy than expected but I don't mind at all. I will work from 9-7 three days a week (because I babysit after school tuesday, wednesday, and thursday) and from 9-3 two days a week. I was planning on taking Portuguese classes three times a week because I live less than 20 miles from the border, but I now realize that I will not have the time. I like meeting my friends at the bar every night to have a drink because it is part of the culture, I would not be happy if I couldn't see my friends and enjoy everyday life. Furthermore, in Vigo I can buy a beer for 1.50 and the waiters bring enough tapas to be considered dinner, so obviously going to the bar is the most economical option.
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